


Jingle Hell

by CrowleyLovesUSUK



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Competition, Explicit Sexual Content, Feuding Neighbors, Fluff, Gabriel Being Gabriel (Supernatural), Holidays, Humor, M/M, Minor Castiel/Dean Winchester, Minor Destiel, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Sabriel - Freeform, Swearing, Top Gabriel/Bottom Sam Winchester, Various Supernatural Characters - Freeform, kid!Claire, kid!jack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-06 00:32:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 35,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16821553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrowleyLovesUSUK/pseuds/CrowleyLovesUSUK
Summary: Sam and Dean Winchester, with the help of their father, John, win their town's annual Holiday Lights Decorating Contest every single year.  They are well-known in town for having the best light display around.  Things go sideways this year, however, when the Novak siblings move in across the street.  Gabe and Cas are also determined to claim first prize in the competition at any cost.  Despite Dean and Gabriel going head to head in their quest for the ultimate prize, they each find themselves falling for the brother of their rival.  As romance blossoms between Sam and Gabriel, the pranks between Gabe and Dean begin to escalate.  When it looks as though Christmas might be ruined for someone close to the Winchester's hearts, Dean and Gabe will have to put aside their differences and work together to fix the holiday for a very special someone.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Sabriel fic. The Destiel is very minor and way in the background to be totally honest. But it's still there.  
> I do not own Supernatural, I'm just playing around with them.  
> Mistletoe, Pennsylvania does not exist. There are two towns with the name in the continental US (Kentucky and Oregon) and I've never been to either, so this is totally fictional.  
> The name for Gabriel's store, "Twix Up Your Sleeve" is from an 'Elite Daily' article I found online by accident about candy puns. It made me laugh and started the idea for this story, sort of.  
> This is pure cheesy holiday romance/fluff for the most part. Think Hallmark Movie and you've got it. I have no regrets.
> 
> WARNINGS:  
> *Mentions of Mary Winchester passing away years previously. (Not Graphic)  
> *Passing references to past Sam/Ruby and past Sam/Gadreel (Not Explicit--like two mentions and a few sentences)  
> *The Explicit Rating DOES NOT come into play until the epilogue, so don't be sad if it's mostly fluffy and there's no lovely smut until the end. Just FYI.

Mary Winchester had always loved the holidays, and she did her best each year to make the season absolutely magical for her two sons, Sam and Dean. She was the mother who always had a batch of fresh baked cookies and carols playing on the speakers. She cajoled her husband, John, into setting up the most amazing display of lights each year in their yard. Enough that people from all over town would take the time to drive by their home. She scrimped and saved all year long so that her boys would always have a very special gift from Santa waiting for them under the tree. Sam and Dean had wonderful memories of Christmastime with their family, thanks to their mom.

When Mary passed away, finally succumbing to her illness when the boys were eight and twelve, respectively, it almost shattered the family. That year, they almost didn’t even put up a tree. That first year, Dean came downstairs one morning and found his brother struggling with a large box of lights and ornaments, tears running down his cheeks, and he knew that he had to make the holiday just as special as his mother always had. Between Dean and John, they put up their lights, decked the halls, and trimmed the tree. Dean even made some passable cookies for his first attempt at baking. The first year was the hardest.

By the time the boys were grown though, they had found new hope in the season by keeping Mary’s memory alive. They painstakingly did their best to recreate the holiday in the way that their mother had always loved. For John, the majority of the year was rough, as the boys would come home from school to find their father lost in a bottle. Eventually, it got to the point that it was all on Dean to make sure that Sammy did his homework and got dinner each night. John did his best, but he took his beloved wife’s death incredibly hard. However, he always pulled it together around the holidays for his sons, and for that, they were grateful.

Two years after Mary’s death, the small town that they resided in began to sponsor an annual Holiday Decoration Contest for the residents. Everyone went all out in the hopes of claiming the first prize trophy. It was only a small crystal sculpture shaped to look like a snowflake, along with a year’s worth of bragging rights—but people coveted it, due to the festive nature of their town. Mistletoe, Pennsylvania took their holiday season very seriously.

The Winchesters entered every year once the contest began. They had only lost once—the first year that it ran—and it became somewhat of a tradition for them to place that first place snowflake on the mantle of their fireplace each Christmas Eve. They started planning their theme in mid-July, working together as a team to make sure that their house was the best decorated one inside the city limits of Mistletoe.

The decorating contest was open to anyone in town. People could begin the day after Thanksgiving and keep on adding to their display all the way up until the moment of judging, which took place at five in the evening on Christmas Eve. The three impartial judges were selected by a random lottery drawing each year on Thanksgiving Day. The whole event on December twenty-fourth was even aired on a local television station due to its popularity.

When the three Winchester men sat down that summer surrounded by a meal of perfectly grilled steaks, they knew that this year was going to be their best yet. However, that was before October came, and the Novak brothers moved in across the street.

Missouri Mosley, who had been a great friend of their parents, had owned the house for as long as Sam and Dean could remember. But her granddaughter had just gotten married, and so Missouri packed up and moved to Florida, putting her house on the market. It was for sale for less than a week before it was purchased.

The day that the Novak siblings moved in, Sam was in the front yard, raking leaves, when the truck pulled up to the curb. He texted Dean at work to tell him that the new neighbors had arrived. He got a quick response asking if any of them were hot. Sam replied that he hadn’t seen anyone yet, only the moving van, to which Dean replied that he should keep a look-out for anyone ‘bangable’ and report back. Sam just shook his head and began to scrape the ground for more fallen foliage.

He watched the large SUV pull up to the curb behind the truck as he worked. Sam refused to admit that he was paying more attention to the new vehicle than he was to his chore. The car turned off and the doors opened with three men tumbling out. They were all incredibly attractive in very different ways. 

The man who had been sitting in the backseat was about six foot tall, with dark, messy hair and was frowning at the house. The one from the passenger side was slightly taller with close cropped blonde hair and stretched his legs as though he was stiff from the trip. The driver was only about five foot eight, with longer golden hair that curled just a little at the nape of his neck and looked to be completely hyped up on something—he practically leapt out of the car and was bouncing around on his feet.

At the sight of the shorter man, Sam stopped all pretense of work and just stood there, leaning on the rake, blatantly staring. He hadn’t seen someone that he found so attractive in a very long time. Not since his last partner, Ruby, had run off with a man she worked with two years ago. The only person Sam had been with since that debacle, was a guy he met one night at a bar named Gadreel. They’d enjoyed each other enough to be casual for a few months before Gadreel’s job had transferred him to New York City. 

Sam grimaced as he realized he hadn’t been laid in over a year. That was unacceptable. Ruby had done enough of a number on him that he shied away from actual relationships now. Gadreel had known the score—that it was just a good time. However, since the other man had moved, Sam hadn’t even made an effort to find a ‘friend with benefits.’ A year was _way_ too long. If Dean knew that he was in that much of a dry spell, then Sam would never hear the end of the teasing. Sam glanced across the street at the three men, his eyes lingering on the shortest, and he thought that he wouldn’t mind having a little fun with that one.

For the most part, he’d always been attracted to both men and women who were smaller than him, and at six foot four, there were plenty of fish in the sea for Sam Winchester. He watched as the shortest of the trio pulled a large lollipop out of his pocket and unwrapped it. It was the size of a fist and brightly colored like a rainbow. He’d seen them in the window of the new candy store that had just opened down the street from the auto repair shop that Dean owned. Obviously the new neighbors had swung through town before arriving at their new house.

From across the street, Sam could hear the taller blonde clearing his throat as he cracked his back, saying, “The yard needs work. A lot of work.”

“It’ll be fine, Luci,” the short man said, stuffing half of the giant lollipop into his mouth. Sam felt his face heat because he immediately wondered how wide that mouth could open…for other things. “I can do it.”

The brunette turned and stared at the others. “You would lose a finger if you tried to trim those bushes, because you’d be so hyped up on sugar you wouldn’t stop shaking.”

“Fine. We can hire someone,” the short man said. “Someone hot though. I don’t want some ugly old man ‘trimming my hedges,’ if you know what I mean.”

The tall blonde chuckled, while the brunette rolled his eyes. “You are beyond vulgar, Gabriel.”

_‘Gabriel,’_ Sam thought, filing the name away. He watched the three men move around the car, speaking to the men from the truck for a little while. He hadn’t realized how long he had been staring until the brunette looked over at him and held his gaze for an uncomfortably long time. “Um, hey!” Sam called out after a few minutes of not breaking eye contact. “You must be my new neighbors.”

The three men stood shoulder to shoulder, in order of height, watching him as he set down his rake and headed across the street. Sam walked up onto the sidewalk and held out his hand in their direction. The tall blonde took his gesture easiest and shook his hand. “Hello.”

“Hi,” he said. “I’m Sam. Winchester. I live over there.” He pointed to his own house, rather pointlessly.

“We figured that,” the man said. “I’m Lucifer Novak.” Sam tried not to blink as he took in the rather odd moniker.

“You can call him Luci—he hates it,” the man named Gabriel piped up, still licking on his candy. Sam actually had to shake his head because Gabriel’s eyes were intoxicating. Bright and mesmerizing. It took just about everything in him for Sam to pull himself away from that gaze. 

Lucifer glared at Gabriel. “This is my annoying younger brother, Gabriel.” He elbowed the brunette in the ribs next and said, “And this is the baby of the family, Castiel.”

Sam shook each of their hands in turn. Castiel looked as though it pained him, but Gabriel grabbed onto Sam’s palm enthusiastically and Sam actually felt a jolt run through his body. He tried to hide his visceral reaction by coughing, which just made him look awkward and possibly sickly. Not the first impression he wanted to make. “So you’re brothers,” he said. “And you’re all moving in together?”

“Nah,” Gabriel waved his free hand. “Just me and Cassie. Luci has a big important job in the city—“

“I’m in Mergers and Acquisitions,” Lucifer cut in.

“He organizes hostile takeovers of other companies, so he’s basically a mercenary,” Gabriel kept talking.

“He’s not a mercenary,” Castiel said firmly. “You’re going to make Sam think we are horrible people.”

“Just Luci,” Gabriel smirked.

“Um, right,” Sam said finally, watching the three brothers glare at one another. “So, what brings you to town?”

“Oh!” Gabriel smiled wickedly at him. “I just opened a shop downtown. ‘Twix Up Your Sleeve.’”

“The new candy place?”

Gabriel smirked. “Right in one, kiddo.”

“Funny name,” Sam said blandly.

“I thought of it myself,” Gabriel rocked back onto his heels and both of his brothers rolled their eyes. “I like candy and pranks—it was perfect.”

“You hired a marketing student from the local college who gave you a discount if they could use it for their final project,” Castiel said.

“Okay, so I thought of it _mostly_ myself,” Gabriel waved his hand dismissively.

“What about you?” Sam turned to Castiel who was standing in the middle of his siblings and looking slightly uncomfortable.

“I’m an accountant,” he said quietly. “Taxes. I can pretty much work anywhere.”

“Cassie loves Christmas, and when I told him I was moving _here_ he just couldn’t resist,” Gabriel smiled up at his youngest brother.

“That is untrue.”

“You _do_ love Christmas,” Gabriel insisted. “We all do.”

Sam found himself grinning. “Yeah, my family does too. We go all out.”

“You and your wife?” Lucifer was eyeing Sam but also watching Gabriel out of the corner of his eye.

“No!” Sam coughed. “I’m not married. I live with my older brother and my dad. We’re pretty close and my dad’s getting older, so we just sort of stuck around to keep an eye on him and…” he trailed off. “It’s not very interesting.”

“Girlfriend?” Lucifer asked.

Sam shook his head. “Boyfriend?” Gabriel finally spoke up and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“No,” Sam said. “I’m single. So…very single.” Great. Now he sounded desperate and lonely. He didn’t miss Gabriel’s eyes lighting up at his admission though, and it made him smile a bit.

“You should come into the shop sometime then,” Gabriel was saying. “I like to give sweet treats to all the handsome boys.” Sam felt his face flush and he licked his lips unconsciously. Gabriel stared at him for a moment and then said, “Relax, kiddo. I’m teasing you.”

“No,” Sam nodded, which made absolutely no sense. “It’s fine. I’m okay with it. More than okay with it.”

“Good to know,” Gabriel winked and went back to mouthing his lollipop.

“Now that you two have finished verbally copulating,” Castiel spoke up. “We really need to direct the movers on where things will be going inside the house.”

Sam sputtered at the accusation, but Gabriel just laughed and clapped his younger brother on the back. “Thanks so much for ruining the moment Cas.”

Lucifer held out his hand once more and Sam shook it. “Good to meet you, Sam,” the tall, imposing blonde said. Cas followed suit and immediately turned away to walk into the house. Gabriel lingered for a moment and neither of them was sure what to do. Should they shake hands? Sam actually found himself wanting to go in for a hug, but that would be pretty creepy seeing as they’d only known each other for all of five minutes. Finally, Gabe awkwardly held out his fist and Sam took a moment before bumping it with his own, realizing how ridiculous they were being. “Good to meet you, kiddo,” Gabriel told him. “I’m not kidding though. Come visit me sometime.”

“I will,” Sam promised. He knew that he would. He already was counting the minutes before he would be seeing those bright, clear eyes once more.

After another lingering glance, Gabriel turned and followed his brothers inside. Sam stood in the yard for a minute before heading back across the street. He raked up the rest of the leaves, his eyes constantly shooting over to the house across the street. A few times, he could swear that there was someone in the window watching him, but he couldn’t be sure. When he had wasted all the time he could in the front yard, he headed inside his own place to get dinner started for when his dad and Dean got home. He certainly had things to tell them.

* * *

“Gabriel,” Cas chided his middle brother when he finally joined them in the bare living room. “You can’t go around blatantly flirting with the new neighbor. If you start something and it ends badly, you’ll have to see him all the time.”

“You are _so_ negative,” Gabriel waved his lollipop dismissively. “Who says that it would go badly?”

“You don’t shit where you eat, brother,” Lucifer spoke up. “This is a small town. You’re not used to that. Just watch it, okay? That’s all we’re saying.”

“You two are both downers and it’s why you’re still single,” Gabriel told them peevishly.

“You’re single too,” Luci pointed out. “And I’m sure it has nothing to do with your annoying personality or your commitment-phobia.”

“Fuck off,” Gabe laughed. He knew that they were both right, but there was just something about the man they had just met. He had felt a rush of pure adrenaline when their hands had touched and he wanted to feel it again—at any cost.

His brothers finally wandered away; Cas to start setting up his bedframe, and Luci to begin unpacking boxes in the kitchen. Gabriel found himself moving toward the large front window. He stood in the corner and peeked around to the yard across the street. Sam was there, raking leaves diligently. Every so often, he would look up and stare across the road. Gabe knew that Sam could probably see him, and since he wasn’t a creeper, so he forced himself to walk away and start helping his brothers. They had a lot of work ahead of them. Gabe tried to push Sam Winchester out of his mind, but it didn’t really work all that well.

* * *

After dinner that night, John Winchester parked himself in front of the television, mindlessly flipping channels, while his sons headed out to the garage. Dean had opened the large door of the structure and pulled his classic Chevy Impala half-way inside. The hood was popped and Dean was fiddling with something, grease streaking across his cheek, when Sam came out and handed his brother a beer. “So?” Dean took a sip from the bottle and waved his dirty rag in the direction of the house across the way. “You met them?”

“Yeah,” Sam shrugged.

“And?” Dean pressed. “You didn’t say much at dinner. Just that you’d introduced yourself and that they’re brothers.”

“There’s three of them, but the oldest lives in New York City,” Sam volunteered. “The youngest one is an accountant here in town and he and the middle brother will be living here. That’s all, really.”

“What are they like?” Dean asked. “Any of them hot?”

Sam glanced down at the stained concrete floor of the garage and stared at a grease spot. “They’re all pretty different, physically,” he began. “But yeah, I’d say they’re each attractive.”

“Awesome,” Dean smiled. “We could use some good eye candy around this neighborhood.” Sam didn’t say anything and Dean fixed him with a look. “So? What do they look like?”

Sam shrugged again. “The oldest one, Lucifer—“ Dean barked out a laugh at the name. “Yeah, I know,” Sam agreed. “He’s the one living in the city still. He’s maybe an inch taller than you, dark blonde-ish hair, blue eyes. Looks kind of scary.”

“Hot scary though, right?”

“Yeah, sure.” Sam said. “The youngest is probably more your type. Castiel. He’s the accountant. Dark hair that looks like he got caught in a wind tunnel—super blue eyes. Like really blue.”

“Oh man, that combination is like my kryptonite,” Dean groaned. “Dark sex hair and blue eyes? Ouch! Was he nice? Funny?”

“He was…odd,” Sam said after a beat. “I wasn’t sure if he was just awkward, or if he didn’t like me. I don’t know. He was really formal.”

“Okay,” Dean took another drink. “Weird, blue-eyed angel—I can work with that.”

“Of course you can.”

“What about the other one?”

Sam ducked his head in case he blushed again. “Gabriel,” was all he said.

Dean stared at him for a full minute. “Oh shit, really?”

“What?”

“You talked to the man for, what? Five minutes? And you’re already this gone on him? Come on, Sammy,” Dean teased him.

“I am not!” Sam practically shouted.

“Please,” Dean winked at him. “I’ve known you for your entire life.”

“No shit.”

“And you always do this when you really like someone,” Dean told him. “I got full descriptions of the other two, but this _Gabriel_ , you just said his name like he’s some kind of Disney prince on a white horse.” Sam snorted. “Come on, level with me. What does this ‘dreamy’ Gabriel look like? That way I’ll know which one is my future brother-in-law when I meet him.”

“Shut up,” Sam said, shaking his head. He waited, but Dean just watched him expectantly. “Fine. He’s short.”

“Everyone is shorter than you, Sasquatch.”

“I’m aware of that,” Sam shot back. “He’s got blonde hair, that’s a little longer. These big amber eyes and he devoured one of those giant lollipops from the new candy store in the time we were talking. Coincidentally, he owns the place too.”

“Too bad it isn’t a bakery,” Dean smiled. “I could use some free pies.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “He was kind of hyper, and really nice—to me—he was kind of a dick to his brothers though. But they gave it right back to him—sort of like we do. He told me that they’re all really into Christmas.”

“Do they know about the contest?” Dean asked.

“I don’t know,” Sam said. “I didn’t mention it. I’m sure they’ll find out though.”

“It might be cool to have some new competition this year,” Dean mused. “We’ll still win, of course.” Sam murmured in agreement. “What else?” Dean asked after a pause.

“They made a point to find out if I was single,” Sam told him.

“That’s good news.”

“I guess,” Sam said. “He also invited me to come by his shop for ‘something sweet’ and called me ‘handsome.’ Plus, I think he was watching me from the window most of the afternoon.”

Dean smiled largely at him and slapped him on the back. “My baby brother is all grown up and getting his first crush!”

“Fuck off,” Sam shrugged his shoulder away from Dean. “It’s not a crush and it’s definitely not my first _anything._ ”

“Come on, Samantha, don’t be a giant baby,” Dean poked at him. “So? Are you going to stop by and ‘taste his wares?’”

“Gross, Dean.” Sam commented.

“That’s a yes.”

“I hate you.”

“Bitch.”

“Jerk.”

“Well, good luck with that Sammy,” Dean finally said. “I know it’s been a while for you. Go get some action! You can have a tiny sugar daddy!”

“I hate you,” Sam laughed.

“You love me,” his brother countered. “So, tell me more about the accountant with the blue eyes. You think he’d go for a grease monkey like me?”


	2. Chapter 2

It had been almost two weeks since the Novaks had moved in and they were mostly unpacked by this point. Cas had taken some time off before starting his new job and was a whirlwind of unpacking. Gabriel spent most of his time at his new shop, inventorying supplies and creating new flavors of the homemade fudge that he hoped would really bring in the repeat customers. He was disappointed that in the entire time they’d been in town, Sam hadn’t stopped in to see him. He’d thought that he’d been pretty open and obvious with his invitation. Shit, he really hoped that Sam was gay—or at least a little bi-curious. He didn’t want to be barking up the wrong tree.

When he’d bought the storefront, he’d hired two employees to help him out, but he’d planned on doing most of the work himself. One was a young red-head who talked about Star Wars and Harry Potter more than the average person. Gabriel didn’t care because both of those universes were insanely cool in his opinion. Her name was Charlie and she had just graduated from a specialized culinary school with an emphasis on candy-making. So far, he adored her and she was a huge help.

The other employee was a high school student named Kevin who would be working part-time because he insisted that a ‘real job’ would round out his college applications. He was pretty quiet when he first started out, but over the past two weeks, he had grown more comfortable around Gabe and Charlie and was finally coming out of his shell. He’d even suggested a scientific example of how coconut extract in some of the fudge might really make the flavors pop and Gabe declared him a genius after he’d tried it out in a batch.

They had been doing a pretty steady business between the curious locals and the multitude of tourists who descended on Mistletoe all year round for some traditional holiday experiences. Gabe just hoped that it wasn’t a fluke. He’d dumped his life savings into this venture, and if he went under, he was totally screwed.

There were a fair few amount of customers wandering around the store at the moment. Charlie was working the register, while Kevin was restocking some of the displays and answering questions. Gabriel simply watched, silently hoping that he’d made the right choice by following his life-long dream of opening a candy store.

The small bell above the door tinged as a new customer walked in. Gabe couldn’t help himself as his face lit up into a huge smile when he saw the towering form of his new neighbor enter his shop. He casually leaned on the counter by the glass display case of fudge and eyed Sam as the taller man approached him. “Hey stranger,” he said.

Sam smiled warmly at him. “Hi, Gabriel.” He glanced around the space, taking in the splashes of color and the decent amount of patrons milling about. “Business looks good.”

“It is,” Gabe agreed. “So, what’s the deal?”

“Huh?”

“I invited you to visit two weeks ago,” Gabriel pouted cutely. “Were you avoiding me?”

“No way!” Sam said loud enough that Charlie glanced over at them. “I mean, no. I’m not avoiding you.”

“Good,” Gabe smiled. “That would have broken my heart.”

“I doubt that,” Sam laughed.

Gabriel winked at him. “You underestimate my intense desire to get you into my bed, Sam.” The younger man definitely flushed at that and Gabriel burst out laughing. “I’m fucking with you again, kiddo. But not really.”

Sam busied himself looking at all of the different flavors of fudge on display. “Do you make all of these?” he sounded nervous.

Nodding, Gabriel opened the case from his side and cut a small piece of the newest creation. “This one is cinnamon,” he held it out to Sam. “I’m hoping it goes over big for the holidays. Try it.”

Sam took the piece and popped it into his mouth. His eyes bugged out as he chewed. “This is really amazing!”

“I know.”

“No seriously,” Sam swallowed and looked into Gabriel’s eyes. “I’m not really into sweets,” he said and Gabe felt his heart clench a little in sadness at the admission. “I’m kind of a health nut. But that was really great!”

“Well,” Gabriel sighed. “That’s a shame. I guess it won’t work out between us after all.”

“What?” Sam looked stricken. “Why not?”

Gabriel had to hold back his chuckle. The kid looked like he was absolutely devastated. “I’m afraid that my food pyramid consists of mostly sugar. I don’t think we’d be compatible if all you want to eat is kale and raw vegetables.” He let Sam sputter for a minute before taking pity on the taller man. “I’m joking again. You’re really bad at picking up sarcasm, aren’t you?”

“No I’m not,” Sam insisted. “You just seemed…really serious about that.”

Gabe shrugged. “As long as you aren’t adverse to some whipped cream on occasion, I can deal with a few salads.”

“You’re a really weird guy, Gabe,” Sam said after a beat.

“So I’ve been told,” Gabe laughed. “Do you want to try another flavor?”

“Sure,” Sam nodded. “Surprise me.”

Gabe grinned evilly and cut off another piece from a light colored chunk of fudge that was riddled with small, rainbow colored dots. He handed it over saying, “You might get diabetes from this one. It’s Birthday Cake. My favorite.”

Sam looked at the candy warily for a moment before putting it in his mouth. He actually moaned around it as he chewed. “Holy shit!” Sam said finally. “That is intense! My brother would love that.”

“Take some home,” Gabe suggested.

“Nah,” Sam said. “I really shouldn’t. I have some stuff to buy for work before my next paycheck goes through.”

“I wasn’t offering to sell it to you,” Gabriel looked at him. “Consider it a house-warming gift.”

“ _You’re_ the new neighbor,” Sam told him. “I should be giving you something.”

Gabriel waved his hand airily. “Whatever.” He cut a large chunk out of the birthday cake as well as another flavor that Sam hadn’t tried. The small, handwritten label announced that it was Apple Pie fudge and he knew that Dean was going to owe him big time. “So, kiddo, what do you do?”

“I’m a history teacher at the high school,” Sam said. “I graduated two years ago and they had an opening. I started out teaching biology but they finally moved me to the new department when Mr. Devereaux retired.”

“Impressive,” Gabriel said warmly. “Have you always wanted to teach?”

Sam shook his head. “I thought about being a lawyer when I was a kid. But the pre-law courses I took in college made it pretty clear that it wouldn’t actually be like the movie ‘My Cousin Vinny,’ so I changed majors.”

They both laughed at that. “I found out the same thing in medical school and that ‘Doctor Sexy, MD’ isn’t very realistic—there is _way_ less sex in a real hospital,” Gabriel told him.

“You’re a doctor?”

“Not anymore,” Gabriel’s face closed off a little bit and Sam didn’t ask anything else about Gabe’s former profession. “How old are you, kiddo?” The question sort of came out of nowhere and Sam stared at him for a beat.

“Twenty-five,” he said finally.

Gabe pursed his lips. Twelve years wasn’t a _huge_ gap, but at the same time, it kind of was. He doubted that a smart, sexy, _young_ guy like Sam would go for a failed surgeon in their late thirties who now goofed around with candy all day in pursuit of an unrealistic dream. “Hmmm,” was all he said.

“Why?” Sam smiled at him. “How old are you?”

“Too old for you,” Gabe said quickly. “That’s a shame.”

Sam narrowed his eyes. “What makes you think that?”

“Let’s just say that I’ve got a few years on you,” Gabe hedged.

Sam leaned onto the counter and got irritatingly close to Gabriel’s face. “And what if I happen to _like_ older men?” he said softly.

Gabe’s eyes flew open and he opened and closed his mouth a few times in surprise. “I’d still probably try to push you toward someone your own age,” Gabriel heard himself say, even though he knew that he definitely didn’t want to do that.

“You’re what? Thirty? Thirty-one?”

“Try thirty-seven,” Gabe grunted. “I know, I look good for my age,” he tried to be glib, but it sounded more than a little bitter.

“Doesn’t bother me,” Sam said quietly, still in Gabriel’s personal space. “It really doesn’t. So, you know…if you maybe wanted to…get together sometime?” Sam kind of trailed off and looked into the shorter man’s eyes hopefully.

Gabe couldn’t feel himself breathing. That was probably bad. He forced himself to suck in a breath and found himself nodding. “Sure. I’d like that.”

“Great,” Sam smiled and leaned away. He picked up the cellophane wrapped blocks of fudge that Gabe had cut for him and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small, crumpled piece of paper and slid it across the counter. “Don’t be a stranger, neighbor.” And with that he turned and walked out of the store.

Charlie sauntered over to him as Gabriel picked up the paper and unfolded it. It was a phone number. The ball was in his court. “Were you _flirting_ with Sam Winchester?” she asked slyly.

“You know him?”

“It’s a small town. He was in my year in school. And anyway, _everyone_ knows the Winchesters,” she smiled. “They win the holiday house decorating contest every year.”

Gabriel’s eyes lit up. “What contest?” Charlie smiled at him, flashing her teeth. “I love all things about holidays and contests—you’ve gotta tell me more!”

* * *

Sam had the fudge that Gabriel had gifted to him sitting on the kitchen table when Dean got home that evening. Neither of them worked that day, being that it was Saturday, but Dean had to run to a nearby town for some sort of ‘doohicky’ for the Impala. He refused to explain more than that, and honestly, Sam didn’t really care. He’d spent the afternoon grading some term papers in the living room after leaving Gabe’s store, nursing a beer and bemoaning the fact that most of his students couldn’t seem to spell ‘Byzantium.’ He also checked his phone every few minutes, hoping that Gabriel would contact him. He felt slightly pathetic, but he couldn’t stop himself.

He heard the door slam from the garage and wandered in to greet his brother. Dean was already eyeing the fudge. “What’s this?”

“I stopped by the ‘Twix Up Your Sleeve,’ place today and talked to Gabriel. He gave me some free samples,” Sam told him, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“Yeah?” Dean broke off a piece of candy with his fingers and ate it. “Did you get a date?”

“No,” Sam said slowly. “But we talked. I learned some more about him and I gave him my number.”

“He call yet?” Dean asked while chewing. He looked like a chipmunk, but Sam didn’t point it out. “This is really damn good!”

“I know it’s good,” Sam said. “And no, he hasn’t called yet.”

“Don’t freak out,” Dean advised. “He’s a dude. You know we do stupid shit like wait three days to call and all that. It’ll be fine. He’ll call.”

“I’m not so sure,” Sam said. “He’s…older than me.”

“What? Like thirty?”

“A bit more than that,” Sam said.

“That’s never really bothered you before,” Dean pointed out. “That one dude from last year? Galadriel or whatever?”

“Gadreel.”

“Yeah, him,” Dean shrugged. “Wasn’t he like six years older than you or something?”

“He was,” Sam admitted. “Gabriel is thirty-seven.”

Dean raised his eyebrows. “Sammy, I never knew you were one for cougars,” he joked.

“Really, Dean?”

“I’m messing with you,” Dean smiled. “So what? He’s twelve years older than you. If neither of you care then what does it matter?”

“I think _he_ might care,” Sam said glumly. “He sort of tried to warn me off when he found out I was only twenty-five.”

“His loss,” Dean said simply. “Come on, Sam,” he said after a moment. “Don’t get all down about it. If he doesn’t call, then just move on. It’s not the end of the world.”

“I know that,” Sam said gruffly. “I just…I’m really attracted to him. And…it’s been a while for me.”

“I’m aware of that,” Dean said supportively. “Honestly, I’d like to kick that Ruby bitch in the shins for cheating on you. You’ve been all mopey for two years and it’s starting to bug me.”

“Sorry,” Sam said sarcastically.

Dean shrugged. “I’m just glad you’re trying to put yourself out there again.”

“I’m still not interested in a relationship,” Sam pointed out.

“Fun is still good too, you know,” Dean smiled. “Just make sure you’re up front with The Candy Man,” his brother advised. “If things go wrong, he’s literally right across the street and that could suck.”

“I’m aware of that, thanks,” Sam said. His phone vibrated in his hand and he found himself holding his breath. He and Dean both stared at the device as Sam unlocked it and opened the new text message from an unknown number.

**From: 610-555-4223**

**Hey, kiddo. Dinner tomorrow night? 8:15pm—Brat Haus off of Main? My treat.**

“That him?” Dean asked when Sam’s face lit up.

“Yeah,” Sam felt like an idiot, but he couldn’t stop grinning. “He wants to meet for dinner tomorrow night.”

“Told you he’d call,” Dean smiled. “Big brother is always right. Don’t forget it.”

Sam entered the number in as a new contact and pressed the reply button.

**To: Gabriel**

**Sounds good. Do you want to meet there, or…?**

It was less than a minute before his phone buzzed again and Sam bit his lip as he read the new message.

**From: Gabriel**

**Might as well. Shop’s open until 8 and it’s easier for me to just head straight over there after I close up.**

Sam responded that he would meet him the next evening and pocketed his phone after Gabriel replied that he was ‘looking forward to it.’ He went back into the living room and picked up the next term paper that he needed to grade. He found himself not really paying attention to whatever it was that his student had written. After four attempts of reading it, he decided that the grammar seemed fine and the main points were accurate and just slapped a ninety percent on the top without finishing it. He never slacked off on his job, but right now, he had much more pleasant things on his mind.


	3. Chapter 3

Halloween was just around the corner, falling in three days. It was a busy time of year for candy shops and Gabriel’s place was no exception. Customers had started to die down about an hour before closing though, and he ended up sending Charlie home early. Kevin was off so he could study for his AP History course. 

Once Gabe had figured out that Sam taught the class, he’d tried to casually ask the teen about his instructor, which proved to be rather unhelpful. All Kevin knew was that ‘Mr. Winchester’ was really into ancient civilizations and that he was a great teacher. He already knew the kid would be good at his job, he wanted more personal stuff. However, he realized that he probably wasn’t going to get the good dirt from a student.

After helping out the last customer of the day, a young mother and her toddler, Gabe flipped the sign to ‘Closed’ and counted down the register. He locked the money up in the safe in his office and headed out for the night. The German restaurant that he’d suggested for their date, The Brat Haus, was only a few blocks away, so he just decided to walk. He _had_ eaten almost a whole pound of peanut butter fudge that morning so the exercise would be beneficial…maybe.

The air was chilled with an autumn wind, and took off down the sidewalk, purposefully stepping on fallen leaves just to hear them crunching under his boots. Cas would have said he was acting childish, but Gabriel honestly didn’t give a fuck what other people thought. Life was meant to be enjoyed in even the smallest of ways. He shoved his hands in his pockets to protect them from the wind, and was surprised to find he’d stashed a caramel apple lollipop there at some point. Against his better judgement, he unwrapped it and stuck it in his mouth, rolling the candy around on his teeth.

He reached the restaurant and stepped inside, only to find Sam standing by the hostess podium, looking around. “Hey kiddo,” he said around the sucker in his mouth.

“We’re about to eat dinner,” Sam wrinkled his nose.

“Don’t worry,” Gabe laughed, taking the empty stick from his lips and asking the young hostess for a trash can. “I’ll still be hungry.” He tossed the garbage in the can provided and smiled at the girl as he gave the name for their reservation.

They were led through to a small, carved, wooden table for two along the wall. They thanked the girl for their menus and took their seats. “Is this place any good?” Gabriel asked as he scanned the extensive choices.

“Yeah,” Sam nodded. “Usually Dean and I just hit a diner for burgers, but my dad really likes coming here so we splurge on occasion.”

“Dean, your brother?” Gabriel peeked at him. Sam nodded. “And your father, John?”

“Yeah,” Sam wrinkled his forehead. “How did you know my dad’s name?”

“I’ve heard a lot about the Winchesters since I’ve come to town,” Gabriel winked at him.

“Oh yeah,” Sam chuckled. “Like what?”

“Just a little something about how you win the decorating contest every year,” Gabriel’s tone was innocent. “Charlie Bradbury works for me and she told me _all_ about it.”

“We do,” Sam agreed. “It’s kind of become a tradition for us. It helps us remember our—“ He snapped his mouth shut. “It’s just something we do.”

Gabriel could tell that there was a hell of a lot more to that story, but he wasn’t going to push. “Well, I hope you’re up for some healthy competition this year because Cassie and I are in it to win it.”

“Is that right?”

“Oh yeah.”

Sam snorted and looked him dead in the eyes. “Well good luck with that,” his mouth played in a smirk. “Trust me, you’re going to need it if you plan on beating us.”

“I’m always up for a challenge,” Gabriel smiled back, his eyes twinkling.

They placed their orders and Gabriel held up his glass of rum, clinking the lip against Sam’s chilled pint of beer. “To new beginnings,” he said, grinning.

Nodding once, Sam sipped his drink and looked deeply at Gabriel across the table. “So,” he hesitated. “I should probably toss this out up front.” Gabriel tilted his head and waited. “I’m not really _into_ relationships right now. Bad experiences and all that, you know?”

A slow, sly smile flitted across Gabe’s lips. “Like I said, Sam,” he looked directly at him. “I’m always up for a challenge.”

* * *

Sam wasn’t quite sure what to make of Gabriel Novak. He was charming and witty and seemed to genuinely care about whatever Sam said; which was a nice change. He asked interesting questions, but never probed too deeply. And he was obviously full of his own stories and opinions due to his past as a doctor. Sam wanted to know more about that, but Gabriel was pretty tight-lipped about his former medical career. All Sam could wriggle out of him was that he ‘used to be a surgeon, but no one really cares about that.’ Sam found himself having an incredible time with the older man. It didn’t hurt that Gabe was probably the hottest guy he’d ever laid eyes on in person.

He had told Gabriel that he wasn’t interested in anything serious, and despite the other man’s original statement of liking a challenge, he hadn’t pushed at all. If he was completely honest with himself, it kind of irked Sam. He knew he wasn’t ready for anything serious, but if he was, it would certainly be with someone like Gabe. He was aware that this way of thinking was bordering on insane—saying one thing and secretly wanting another—but he couldn’t help himself. Gabriel was telling him how his employee, and Sam’s star student, Kevin Tran, had suggested trying to make a batch of fudge with brown sugar, when their food arrived.

“Do you think that brown sugar would make it better?” Sam asked as his plate of bratwurst, noodles and sauerkraut were placed in front of him.

Gabriel shrugged, eyeing up his own food. “I usually use super fine grain granulated sugar,” he said. “So the brown sugar might fuck up the consistency. I won’t know until I try it.”

“You wouldn’t happen to need a taste-tester, would you?” Sam asked him.

Their eyes met and Gabriel grinned at him. “Okay, kiddo. Are you free tomorrow?” Sam nodded. “Come by the store after we close and I’ll show you how to make some. You can have _all_ the samples you want.” Somehow, Gabriel made the offer sound incredibly dirty, and Sam was intrigued.

“You wouldn’t cover _me_ with fudge, would you?” Sam asked, thinking of the other man’s apparent sweet tooth.

Gabriel’s eyes blew wide and he sucked in a breath, choking a little on his food. When he finally coughed and recovered, he glared a little at Sam. “Don’t tempt me.”

Sam laughed loudly. He hadn’t expected that vehement of a reaction. He kind of liked the idea of Gabriel dribbling chocolate all over him and licking it off and—nope. They were in public and Sam steered his mind _far_ away from that line of thinking before he found himself in an embarrassing predicament. He shifted slightly in his seat and Gabriel smirked at him knowingly. “You okay there?” the shorter man asked with a chuckle.

“Just fine.”

“Sure you are,” Gabe then turned the conversation to Sam’s work, asking him what kinds of topics he was covering at the moment in his classes. That managed to take them up until dessert, seeing as Sam was passionate about his job, and Gabriel seemed more than happy to listen.

Gabriel insisted on ordering a black forest gateau with two spoons, although he warned Sam that he was planning to eat the most of it. Sam laughed, because he knew the shorter man wasn’t kidding. True to his word, when the confection arrived, Sam only got two bites of it before Gabe devoured the rest at an alarming speed. “Where exactly do you put all of that food?” Sam wondered.

“I have a high metabolism. Like an insect,” Gabe smiled at him. “Plus I need a lot of energy to keep up with my schedule. I guess it started in college and I just never stopped. I’m sure it will catch up to me someday, but that’s Future Gabriel’s problem.” He waved his hand as if he didn’t care one bit about the fact that he’d just eaten a day’s worth of calories in under five minutes.

After they had set down their forks and received the bill, Sam tried to pull out his wallet, but was shooed away by Gabriel. “I said it was my treat,” the older man said. “Put that away or I’ll smack you.”

Sam laughed and held his hands up in surrender, shoving his wallet back into his pocket. “I’m buying next time then,” he conceded.

“Next time?” Gabriel quirked an eyebrow.

“Um, yeah,” Sam hesitated. “I mean, if you want to…”

“I definitely plan on seeing you again, Sam,” Gabriel told him before handing over the bill. That put a smile on Sam’s face. “Besides, you’re coming by tomorrow, right? To make some fudge with me?”

“I’ll be there,” Sam said.

“Awesome.” They got up and made their way out to the sidewalk. Both of them hovered in front of the restaurant, watching each other. Sam put his hands in his pockets and bit the corner of his mouth. He really wanted to kiss Gabriel, but he didn’t want to just throw himself at the other man. And for some reason, Gabe just stood there, rocking on his heels and watching Sam with a predatory look. He didn’t make a single move though.

Finally, Sam couldn’t stand the suspense any longer and he took a step toward Gabriel, reaching for the other man’s arm. To his surprise, Gabe side-stepped him, his tongue popping out of the corner of his mouth as he watched Sam with amusement. “Well, this has been fun,” Gabriel said as Sam looked at him in confusion. He gestured with his head back down the street toward his shop. “I’m parked back there. So, I guess this is goodnight.”

“Um,” Sam blinked. “Okay. Yeah, it’s been fun. Um, goodnight?”

“Night, kiddo,” Gabe spun and began to walk away.

Sam watched him for a split second before finally moving and jogging up behind him, calling his name. Gabriel stopped and turned to look up at him, a question in his eyes. “Um,” Sam started. He wasn’t sure what to say. He definitely didn’t want to just outright ask for a goodnight kiss because that would make him feel needy and desperate, and he didn’t want to come off like that. But he wasn’t sure what else to do. “So, that’s it?”

Gabe nodded once and tilted his head. It was as though he was just _waiting_ for Sam to say it. After what seemed like years of silence he finally said, “Was there anything else?”

He was smiling and it was somewhat confusing for Sam. “You pulled away,” he finally said.

“Yes, and?” Gabriel was flat out grinning now.

“Well,” Sam knew he was just going to have to go for it. “I was kind of hoping we could, you know—kiss?”

“Mmm,” Gabriel nodded sagely and made a noise. “Did you?”

“Yeah,” Sam was in it now. He was putting himself out there, and despite the older man saying that he wanted to go out again, he was giving off odd signals. Sam wasn’t sure how that made him feel.

“Well, Samshine,” Gabriel said. “That _would_ have been ideal. However, you mentioned that you’re a little hesitant to start an actual relationship.” Sam frowned. “See, I’m _old._ ” Gabe said, shrugging.

“You’re not old,” Sam interjected.

“Compared to you, I am.” Gabriel smiled softly up at him. “I’m kind of beyond just a good time right now. So,” he ducked his head for a moment before meeting Sam’s eyes again. “I’m just going to bide my time until you come around.”

“So we aren’t kissing tonight?” Sam was ashamed that his voice sounded just a little whiny.

Gabriel shook his head. “Eventually,” he winked. “You’ll be begging for me, kiddo. More than you are right now.”

Sam flushed deeply as Gabriel shot him one last smirk and turned away, sauntering off down the street. Well, shit. If one denied kiss was enough for him to come right out and ask for one, Sam knew that he wasn’t going to be able to hold out for much longer. And if Gabe was interested in a relationship with him, Sam might have to rethink his stance on the idea. Because he kind of _needed_ to know what Gabriel Novak tasted like.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam slept horribly that night, replaying the entire evening in his mind, over and over again. Around four, he gave up and clamored out of bed, stomping down the stairs to put some coffee on. The pot was just finishing to brew when Dean walked into the kitchen in a threadbare bathrobe, rubbing his eyes. “What in the hell are you doing?”

“Sorry,” Sam said. “I couldn’t sleep. I figured I’d just get started on the day.”

“You’re going to regret this around noon when you’ve had to teach all day and you can’t keep your eyes open,” Dean told him, sliding into a chair at the table.

“I’m aware of that, thanks,” Sam said, pouring himself a large mug. “At least it’s Friday.”

“Speak for yourself,” Dean grumbled. “I picked up some extra hours tomorrow to cover Ash.”

“Sorry,” Sam repeated.

Dean scratched his head. “Hey, the weather’s supposed to be okay today,” he commented. “Would you want to grill one last time before we get buried in snow for the year?”

Sam shifted in his chair and stared into the coffee mug, swirling it around in his hands. “I actually have plans tonight,” he said eventually.

“You went out last night,” Dean looked at him. “Another date?”

He nodded at his brother and Dean looked impressed. “Same guy?”

“Yeah,” Sam said. “I’m going over to Gabe’s shop. We’re going to…bake fudge?”

“Is that a euphemism?” Dean laughed.

“No!” Sam shouted. “Jesus, Dean! He’s trying out a new recipe and he asked if I wanted to help.”

“He’s probably going to tie you up in his basement and cover you in chocolate sauce,” Dean commented, trying to hide a smile.

Sam glared at him. “He’s not going to tie me up in his basement.”

“But he might pour chocolate on you? Interesting,” Dean was now fully laughing at him. “Good to know, Sammy.”

“Shut up,” Sam busied himself drinking his coffee.

“Never really saw you as that type, I have to admit,” Dean was wiping a tear from his eyes.

“I hate you,” Sam told him.

Dean finally gathered himself and looked over at him. “So I’m guessing that the date went well last night if you’re seeing him again so soon?”

Sam shrugged. “Yeah, it did. It’s just,” he paused.

“What?” Dean’s forehead wrinkled. “Is he a douche? Did he do something?”

“No, Dean,” Sam sighed. “I thought we were really hitting it off, but then I mentioned that I’m not looking for anything serious. Turns out that he is,” Sam paused. “He didn’t even kiss me goodnight.” Dean stared at him. “I mean, I went for it, and he actually sort of pulled away.”

“So why exactly are you going out with him again?”

Sam bit his lip. “Because I really like him. A lot. More than I should.” He didn’t know how to articulate what he’d been feeling since he got home the night before. “He’s really great, Dean,” Sam said finally. “Smart and accomplished—he used to be a surgeon. And I can’t remember ever being so attracted to someone right away before. I mean, he’s pretty hot.”

“But you both want different things,” Dean pointed out.

“Yeah, that’s an issue,” Sam agreed. “Maybe I should give him a chance. I mean, it’s been two years since…you know,” he hated saying Ruby’s name, and therefore he rarely did. Dean knew what he meant though. “I should probably try to move on from that. I mean, I didn’t even love her, so I don’t know why I’m still closing myself off.”

“Because it’s safer that way,” Dean huffed. “If you don’t put it all out there, you won’t get hurt. It’s what we do.”

“Maybe it’s time I changed then,” Sam said quietly.

Dean watched him for a while before nodding slowly. “This Gabriel guy has really gotten to you, hasn’t he?”

Sam nodded once and took a sip of his coffee. “I _did_ say that I like him.”

“Just be careful, okay,” Dean warned after they had sat in silence for a minute. “Don’t do anything you don’t want to do. Watch your back. We don’t even really know these guys.”

“They’re our neighbors,” Sam said.

“Yeah?” Dean shot back. “And how many people _really_ know the person next door?”

His brother had a point. They _didn’t_ know each other—not really. And Sam knew that if things went south, he would still have to see Gabriel a lot seeing as they lived across the street from one another. He should have thought this through more. Sam sighed. He considered for a split second on bailing that evening, but he knew immediately that he wouldn’t. He was drawn to Gabriel, even if he didn’t quite know why.

“I’ll be careful,” Sam promised. “Don’t worry about me though. I’m not a kid.”

“Never said you were,” Dean told him, standing up and heading back to bed.

Sam sat alone in the kitchen for a long time, thinking back onto his first meeting with Gabe, through the candy shop and on to the previous evening. Sam knew that he didn’t think he was ready for a relationship, but that wasn’t going to make him tell Gabriel to back off. He was almost looking forward to see what the shorter man came up with to try and win his affections.

* * *

All day long, Gabriel had been distracted. Charlie and Kevin both noticed it and commented throughout the day that he seemed off. He waved aside their concerns and left for his office under the pretense of starting to order specialized candies for the upcoming holiday season. After having to call to fix three accidental requests for the wrong amount of supplies, he gave up. 

He was finally here, in his own shop, fulfilling his dreams and he was throwing it away daydreaming about Sam Winchester’s lips. He was just counting himself lucky that he’d noticed the extra zero in the order for ten boxes of chocolate Santas before one hundred of the bastards had been delivered. There was no way he could have sold that much inventory, and he would have probably been forced to eat the leftovers, which would have been awful. He’d almost had to have his stomach pumped after his attempt at the three pound gummy bear last year on his birthday. He still had to get Lucifer back for that one.

“Hey, Kevin?” he shouted.

Moments later, the teen popped his head into the office. “What’s up?”

“Do kids like spicy candies?”

Kevin thought for a moment before answering. “Little kids, probably not. But people my age would probably try something like that. I would for sure. But then again, it would have be pretty high on the Scoville scale to beat some of my mom’s traditional dishes.”

Gabriel hummed and pursed his lips. “All right,” he said. “I’m going to order some of these candy canes made with hot chilies. You’re going to be my taste tester when they come in.”

“Looking forward to it,” Kevin smiled. “Oh yeah,” he said before he left. “Mr. Winchester is out front asking for you.”

Gabe scrunched up his eyes in confusion. It hit him a moment later that Kevin was talking about Sam. He looked up at the large clock on the wall and saw that it was almost closing time. How had that happened? “Thanks, Kev,” he said. “Tell him I’ll be right out.”

He quickly placed an order for a few different flavors of spicy canes for the holiday season and closed down his computer. He swung through the small kitchen in the back of the shop and pulled out some ingredients before heading to the front of the store. Charlie was at the register helping a teenager who was buying about six pounds of jelly beans, which made Gabriel smile—the kid had good taste and a healthy appetite. Kevin was sweeping under some of the shelves, getting the shop ready for the next day. Sam was easy to spot due to the fact that he was as tall as a freaking oak and the only other customer. He was near the front window, looking at the large display of rainbow swirled lollipops.

“I can fit a whole one of those in my mouth,” Gabe heard himself saying as he walked up behind Sam. He immediately realized how incredibly weird it sounded and tried to hide the blush creeping up his neck.

Sam turned and raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m aware,” he said after a beat. “You were doing that the day we met.”

“I had to make sure they were good enough to sell,” Gabriel said. “I might have taste-tested a few of them.”

“You ate seven of them within twenty-four hours of their arrival,” Charlie called helpfully from the counter. Kevin sniggered from the other side of the store where he was eavesdropping and pretending to clean.

“Thanks guys,” Gabriel said sarcastically.

“I’m actually very concerned that you’re going to get diabetes,” Sam said in mock seriousness. “That much sugar is really bad for you.”

“Too much of _anything_ is bad for you,” Gabriel pointed out. “It could be worse. It could be cocaine.”

Sam looked a little worried at that statement and Charlie snorted, walking around the counter to lock the store up. “Don’t let him freak you out,” she said. “The closest Gabriel would ever get to hard drugs is drinking four energy drinks in a day.”

“That’s…also really unhealthy,” Sam said with concern. Gabe shrugged. He liked energy drinks. They gave him wings.

“All right, boss. We’re out,” Charlie flashed them both a peace sign. “The money’s all back in the safe and don’t forget that I signed us up for the route of trick-or-treaters tomorrow afternoon. So expect to be busy.”

“Looking forward to it,” Gabriel said happily. “Have a good night. Thanks a lot, both of you.”

Charlie and Kevin grabbed their things and left through the back door. Sam was still standing by the lollipop display with his hands in his pockets. Both men were just watching one another and the silence stretched. “So—“ Sam started, just as Gabe spoke. “Well—“

They both laughed and Sam motioned for Gabriel to continue. “I was going to ask if you wanted to start working?”

“That’s why I’m here,” Sam smiled.

They walked around the counter and headed to the kitchen. Gabriel had some bowls and glass cookware sitting out waiting for them. Sam took off his coat and draped it over a chair in the corner, turning to check out what kinds of things they would be needing to make fudge from scratch. Gabe was digging around in the fridge and came out holding a plate full of cookies.

“Snack?” he asked, holding the plate out toward Sam. He was already eating one.

Sam reached for a cookie but pulled his hand back at the last second. “These aren’t cooked,” he said.

Gabriel shook his head. “They’re better raw.”

“Jeez,” Sam snorted. “That’s really dangerous. You could get salmonella.”

Laughing, Gabriel snatched another piece of raw dough and popped it into his mouth. “I’ve literally been eating cookie dough since I was two years old. I haven’t gotten sick from it yet. That’s just a rumor, you know.”

“I’ll pass,” Sam said. “Just in case.”

“Suit yourself,” Gabriel shrugged and tossed the dough back into the fridge. “Okay,” he clapped his hands together and started to move things around on the counter. “Have you ever really cooked anything before?”

Sam shook his head. “I can do boxed mac and cheese,” he offered.

Gabriel slapped his hand over his heart in mock horror. “That’s frightening. No worries, we can work on actual meals another time.” He picked up a sauce pan and began to measure things out into it. Sugar, chocolate squares, something that looked like coffee creamer and finally some corn syrup. 

Sam wrinkled his nose. “Corn syrup?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t that for like, cooking vegetables?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “First off, if you’re sautéing veggies then you should be using butter or olive oil, you heathen. And trust me—you need corn syrup for this.” He handed another pan to Sam and pointed at the ingredients spread out around them. “Go for it, just add what it says on the paper next to you. I’ll even let you take home anything you make.” He winked.

Once the pots were simmering merrily on the stovetop, Gabriel walked Sam through the proper way to stir, so that nothing stuck to the bottom. When it all started to melt and blend together Sam actually smiled. “I’m making fudge,” he laughed.

“And you’re not half bad at it either,” Gabriel praised him. He handed Sam a small candy thermometer and waited while the taller man checked the temperature of their concoction. “Remember, we want it at two hundred and thirty-four degrees.”

“So one hundred and twelve in Celsius?” Sam smiled at him.

“Sure, show off how smart you are,” Gabriel laughed.

By the time they were pouring the mixture into the greased glass pans, Sam was outright grinning. Gabriel thought it was endearing at how proud the other man was for his first attempt at something besides boxed up, processed food. “Now what?” Sam turned to him with an adorable, excited look on his face.

“Now they harden up and they’re good for about a week,” Gabriel said. “I usually only put them out for sale for three or four days though.”

“What about the stuff that doesn’t sell?” Sam wondered.

“I drop it off at various places,” Gabriel shrugged. “People like candy, and it doesn’t hurt to butter up the fire department,” he laughed.

“You might have run into my Uncle Bobby then,” Sam commented. “He’s retired from the department now, but he still picks up some shifts as a volunteer firefighter.”

“Bobby Singer?” Gabe tilted his head. Sam smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I met him the first time I stopped by. He yelled at me because apparently ‘this is no place for civilians,’ but he got really happy when I handed over the coconut cream fudge.”

“That sounds like him,” Sam chuckled. “He’s more bark than bite, honestly.”

“Yeah, I picked up on that,” Gabe told him. “He seems like a nice guy. Is he your uncle on your dad’s or mom’s side?”

Sam shifted a little. “He’s more of a family friend actually. Not blood related, but…”

Gabriel nodded. “I get that. Sometimes the family you choose is better than the group you were born into.”

“Family isn’t just blood,” Sam agreed.

They were both quiet for a while, the words hanging in the air. Sam placed his palm onto the countertop and took a step toward Gabriel. He watched the taller man move closer to him, knowing exactly what was coming. The real question in Gabe’s mind was, would he let it happen this time? He had to admit that walking away from Sam the night before had been incredibly difficult. He wasn’t sure that he could pull it off again. But he knew that he couldn’t just give in right away, or he ran the risk of the kid just bolting after they both ‘satisfied their urges.’ And that was the _last_ thing that Gabriel wanted.

Sam’s fingers grazed the back of his hand that was resting on the counter and their eyes caught. Gabriel knew that he was a goner as soon as he looked into Sam’s face. Yeah, he was going to let Sam kiss him. That was definitely happening. He took a single step toward the taller man. Sam bent his head, reaching up to run his thumb across Gabe’s cheek. Their noses brushed and Gabriel could feel Sam’s breath on his lips for a split second before they melded.

The kiss was sweet and light, just the soft meeting of lips for a fraction of a moment. Gabe’s eyes slid shut as he relished in the full body tingle he got just from the minimal contact. When they pulled away, Sam was staring at him in a state of shock. “You didn’t pull away,” he whispered.

“No,” Gabriel replied. “I didn’t want to yesterday either.”

“Then why did you?”

“Because I’m a masochist, obviously,” Gabe snorted. “Besides, wasn’t that worth waiting another twenty-four hours for?”

“Yeah, it was,” Sam said breathily. He bent down and pushed their lips together once more, this time, cupping Gabe’s face in his palms. The kiss was just heating up, Sam probing at Gabe’s mouth with his tongue when the back door of the shop crashed open and they jumped apart.

Cas was in the doorway, his trench coat bunched around his shoulders, letting the chilled air into the warm kitchen. “Gabriel, are you all right?”

“What the hell, Cassie?” Gabe glared at his brother. “What are you doing here?”

“I was driving by and I saw the lights were still on,” he said. “I was concerned. You closed over an hour ago.”

“Sam and I are making fudge,” Gabriel gestured to the supplies lying all around them.

Cas narrowed his eyes a little and looked between them. “Is that a euphemism?”

“God, no!” Gabriel shouted while starting to laugh. “We are _literally_ making candy. You know,” he grinned at his younger brother. “I always knew you were a kinky bastard, Cas.”

Castiel rolled his eyes and Sam cleared his throat. “He’s just teaching me the process.”

“We’re on a date,” Gabe said pointedly.

“Oh,” Cas actually looked embarrassed at that. “I’m sorry to intrude then. Nice to see you again, Sam.” He spun around and slammed the door behind him without another word.

“That was weird,” Sam commented.

“You have accurately summed up my baby brother in one word—weird,” Gabriel told him, moving away and gathering up dirty bowls and spoons. The moment was gone. They cleaned up in silence, shooting meaningful looks at one another when they thought it wouldn’t be noticed. Once the shop’s kitchen was sparkling, Gabe grabbed one last ball of cookie dough before they left for the night.

He walked Sam to his car, both of them doing their best to ignore how cold it was. Their breath was visible in thick, white puffs and Gabe shivered a little against the wind. “Do you want to go out again sometime?” he asked finally, his voice hitching with hope.

“After a kiss like that,” Sam smiled. “I’d be an idiot to say no. When’s a good time for you?”

“I’ll be busy tomorrow with the Trick-or-Treater crawl downtown,” Gabriel said glumly. “Otherwise I’d throw convention to the dogs and ask to see you then.”

“I’ll stop by,” Sam promised. “I have some stuff to do for my classes in the morning, but I’ll definitely come see you in the afternoon.”

“I look forward to it,” Gabe said. He could tell that Sam was getting _that_ look in his eyes again and he took a slow step backward. He knew that if he got to kiss Sam Winchester again, that it would definitely not stop there. Gabe was worried that if he gave in to what he really wanted, that Sam would be gone before the sun hit the next morning. “I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he said, backing up some more.

He tried to mentally push away the sight of Sam’s disappointed expression as he said goodnight. He was in the same place. Gabriel wanted another kiss as well, but he was going to bide his time and make sure that Sam knew that what they had might be worth the risk.


	5. Chapter 5

“Hurry up! We’re going to be late!” Dean shouted at Sam from the car. His brother was already in the driver’s seat of his beloved Impala, the window rolled down, yelling at him to move his ass. 

Sam had spent all of Saturday morning working on a lesson plan and grading a few pop quizzes and he kind of wanted a nap. But he’d told Gabe that he would swing by the candy store, and he and Dean already had an important appointment for the day as it was. “I’m freaking coming,” Sam screamed back.

He slid into the passenger seat and looked at the clock on the dash. “We’re not late,” he said.

“We could be,” Dean shot him a look. “You know they’re counting on us, right?”

“I know,” Sam said. “I take this seriously too.”

They pulled away from the house and drove through town. Their first stop was at a small, slightly run-down two bedroom house a few miles away. Dean honked the horn and a small girl with a riot of blonde curls ran out of the house and clamored into the back seat. She was wearing a threadbare winter jacket and carrying a plastic dinosaur mask. “How you doing today, Claire Bear?” Dean glanced over his shoulder.

“Could be better, Han Solo,” she grinned at him.

“That’s a good one,” Dean smiled. “I like Han Solo. Nice choice, kid.”

Sam turned in the seat to look at the little girl. “Are you all ready for your birthday?”

“Hell yeah!” Claire pumped her fist.

“Language,” Dean laughed. 

She pretended to look chastised, but both brothers knew it was an act. “I’m going to be seven and that’s the best age,” she announced. “Mom even said we could order pizza for dinner!” Claire beamed, sounding so excited that both Sam and Dean grinned back at her.

They pulled away from the house and went a few blocks down with Claire excitedly telling them about her class’ Halloween party the day before. She had managed to trade all of her Almond Joys for pink Starbursts to an unsuspecting boy named Andy who, according to Claire, had ‘terrible taste in candy.’

They stopped in front of another smaller home and waited as a young boy wearing a black cape came running down toward them. He slid into the backseat with Claire and smiled at them all. “Hey!” he chirped, his voice muffled by the plastic vampire teeth he was wearing. 

“Hiya Jack,” Claire poked her friend in the chest. “Let’s make a deal,” she said. “I’ll give you all of my Milky Ways, if you give me all of your M & M’s?”

“Totally!” Jack smiled. “I’ll do anything for nougut!”

“You two ready for some fun?” Dean asked, pulling the Impala into the street.

“Yeah!” the two children screamed. “I’ve never been trick-or-treating before,” Jack informed them.

“Well that’s about to change,” Sam smiled back at the kids.

He and Dean had started volunteering with a youth program two years ago, looking to give back to their community. They had been paired with Claire right away and the three of them tried to do something together at least once a week. Sam had bonded with Jack a few months prior at a bowling party that the youth club put on where he had been acting as a chaperone. Now they had four of them for their outings, and both kids seemed to enjoy the other’s company.

Both of them were being raised by single mothers who didn’t have a lot of extra time or money, and were struggling. Claire’s father had left when she was three, leaving the young girl sullen and withdrawn. With Dean, she was becoming a bright, tough and inquisitive kid. Jack’s father had also taken off, but only a few months before the Winchesters had met him. He actually seemed to be handling the change incredibly well, considering, but had enjoyed spending as much time as he could with his ‘big brothers.’

“How come you’ve never been trick-or-treating before?” Claire asked.

Jack shrugged and looked down at his hands. “My dad thought it was rude to bother people.”

Sam and Dean shared a look and the older Winchester set his jaw. “It’s not rude,” Sam told the kids. “People love handing out candy and its fun for everyone. You’re going to have a great time, I promise.”

For the majority of the year, the town of Mistletoe embraced all things festive, catering to tourists who wanted a little holiday magic year-round. However, that didn’t mean that the citizens ignored other holidays, and Halloween was a big one. There was the annual Trick-or-Treat Crawl, where costumed kids went door to door at local businesses collecting treats. There was also the costume contest, pumpkin carving with chainsaws (for adults) and pictures with people dressed up as horror movie villains. The brothers had always taken Claire, and when they found out that Jack had never been, they scrounged up the vampire get-up for the young boy and insisted on bringing him as well.

“Plus,” Sam smiled at the two youngsters. “I have a very special place to show you while we’re out.”

“What is it?” Claire bounced a little in her seat.

“You know that new candy shop?” Sam grinned. “I happen to be friends with the owner, and I’m pretty sure he has some good stuff set aside for you two.” He realized that he’d never mentioned Claire or Jack to Gabriel, but he had a feeling that the older man wouldn’t care. Gabe would probably force a ton of sugar on the kids with a smile. The thought made Sam’s chest feel warm.

“Friends, huh?” Dean laughed at him. “Is that what we’re calling it?”

Sam glared at his brother. “They’re kids, Dean,” he hissed. “I’m not getting into the specifics of whatever it is that Gabe and I are doing with six year olds.”

“I’m messing with you,” Dean laughed. “You are just too easy.”

They found parking relatively easily, and the kids tumbled out before the ignition was even off. Walking along the street to the designated meeting place in the center of town, Claire and Jack were wriggling with delight at all of the decorations. It looked as though most of the town had turned out. All the kids were in costumes, as well as some of the adults. The town sheriff, Jody Mills, greeted everyone and gave a few reminders about following traffic laws to avoid being hit by cars, before everyone scattered, hoping to fill their bags with the most candy.

Sam and his brother followed behind their charges as they ran into different shops, enjoying the holiday spirit. The people handing out candy were gracious and cooed over all of the costumes. After each stop, Jack and Claire would inspect their loot and offer trades to one another, much to the Winchester’s amusement.

After about forty-five minutes, they reached the doors of Twix Up Your Sleeve. Sam could see Gabe through the window having some sort of play battle with a small child dressed up as Darth Vader. Gabe was wielding a candy cane instead of a lightsaber. They stepped inside out of the cold and the air changed to the sweetest smell. The place was packed to the brim with people there for trick-or-treating, or just purchasing as much sugar as they possibly could.

Dean wandered off with Claire and Jack toward the large display of themed chocolates while Sam watched Gabriel for a little while. When the epic lightsaber battle finally concluded, Gabe waved goodbye to Vader and Sam’s heart melted just a little. Gabriel looked up and saw him standing by the door and his face broke into a huge grin. He moved through the throng of people in Sam’s direction with a wicked smile on his face. “Hey, kiddo.”

“Hi.”

“I honestly wasn’t sure you’d show up,” Gabe said.

“I said I would,” Sam frowned.

“I know,” Gabriel shifted on his feet. “But we ended kind of…weird…last night.”

Sam opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off by Jack tugging on his sleeve. “Sam! Dean said he’d buy us a whole bag of jellybeans!”

Turning his attention to the young man, Sam smiled down and said, “That sounds awesome, Jack!”

He looked up to find Gabriel watching him curiously. The moment only lasted a split second before Gabe recovered and turned to Jack as well. “Hey dude! What’s your name?”

“I’m Jack Kline,” the child said brightly. “I don’t know what flavor I should get though.”

Gabe clicked his tongue and held out his hand to Jack. “Come with me. I can solve that problem in a snap.”

Wholly trusting, Jack took Gabriel’s hand and followed him over to the large containers of flavored beans. Dean and Claire watched them approach, while Sam trailed behind them. Gabe grabbed a large cellophane bag and looked at Jack. “Okay, what’s the first flavor you’re thinking of?”

Jack pointed happily to the bright green ones proclaiming the flavor to be Candy Apple. Gabe smiled and said, “Excellent choice.” He used a scoop to drop a large amount in the bag. “Okay, next.” Choosing Buttered Popcorn, Jack clapped and shouted with delight when Gabe added a large scoop to the bag and shook it up, combining the flavors. “You don’t have to just pick one, kid,” he laughed.

“Really?”

“No way!” Gabe looked shocked. “You can have as many flavors as you can fit.” He handed the bag and scoop over to Jack and said, “Go crazy!”

Jack and Claire squealed and began to dive into all the different boxes, making a multi-colored rainbow of candies, uncaring of the actual flavors in their quest to make the ‘prettiest’ bag. “You must be Gabriel,” Dean said finally. 

He held out his hand and Gabe shook it firmly. “That’s me. And you’re Dean.”

“Right in one.”

Gabe turned to Sam and slid him a glance. “So…you have kids?” He didn’t sound upset, just slightly confused.

Sam shook his head vehemently while Dean doubled over laughing. “No,” Sam corrected. “They’re our ‘little siblings.’”

“Like a youth program thing? You hang out with them? Go to the movies and sledding and all that shit? Stuff. Sorry. Shit. Sorry,” Gabe rambled. Dean finally composed himself and went to help the kids with their choices.

“Yeah, like that,” Sam laughed. “We’ve been hanging with Claire for about two years. We met Jack a few months ago.”

“They’re cute,” Gabe commented.

“You’re not mad?” Sam lowered his voice.

Gabriel actually looked scandalized. “Why would I be mad?”

“I mean,” Sam shrugged and looked slightly guilty. “You thought they were…you know, _mine._ ”

“Well, they’re not,” Gabe said slowly. “And if they were, it’s not like I’d care.”

“Really?”

Gabriel shrugged. “I like kids. They’re fun and they eat candy.”

“Well okay then.”

“Okay.”

They stood side by side for a moment in silence, watching Claire and Jack run around the shop. “I mean, you’re not required to tell me everything about your life,” Gabe said after a while.

“I know,” Sam nodded. “But I’m finding that I sort of _want_ to.” Gabe looked up at him. “I mean, not right now,” Sam clarified. “But yeah, eventually…I can see being pretty open with you.”

“So I’m guessing that a ‘relationship’ isn’t entirely off the table then?” Gabe used air quotes and smirked at him.

“It’s on the table,” Sam said quietly.

“Good to know.”

The kids ran back toward them, followed by Dean who was looking between them knowingly. “This is the best store!” Claire shouted. “I want to stay here!”

“Well, I hate to tell you,” Gabe smiled at her. “But you’d have to sleep on the floor and there’s no bathtub so you’d have vegetables start growing on you because you’d be so covered in dirt.”

“Ew!” the two kids chorused. “Never mind,” Claire said. “But we can come back again though, right Sam?”

“Anytime you want,” Sam told her and she pumped her fist in the air.

Gabriel glanced over at Dean for a moment. “How much sugar are they allowed to have?” The Winchesters exchanged a look—they weren’t sure they trusted the glint in Gabriel’s eyes.

* * *

Once Gabriel had piled an inordinate amount of free candies onto Jack and Claire, including some different fudge for their mothers, the four of them left to continue their adventure. Gabe realized that he felt as though things seemed to dim when Sam walked away. The colors of his store weren’t as bright without the taller man standing with him. Well, that wasn’t fucking good. He was ecstatic that Sam had said there was a chance for something long term, but he still didn’t want to push it.

The hordes of trick-or-treaters kept him distracted enough until it was time to close for the day, which was slightly helpful. He said goodnight to Charlie and closed up as fast as he could manage. Despite the fact that he was parked about twenty feet from the back of the shop, he was shivering by the time he got into his car.

He drove the short distance home, and he was slightly ashamed to admit that his eyes lingered on the house across the street, hoping for glimpse of a certain tall teacher. Castiel was inside stirring something in a frying pan at the stove when Gabe tossed his jacket onto the floor and wandered in. “Something smells…like burning?”

Cas grimaced and shook his head. “I don’t understand, but yes, it’s burned.”

Gabriel looked at what was probably supposed to be stir fry. Half of it was charred black while the rest was obviously raw. He reached around his brother and turned the heat down on the stovetop. “It might help if it wasn’t cranked up to full heat,” he commented.

His brother sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’ll get better.”

“You already have,” Gabriel clapped him on the back. “Just think—last year you couldn’t make a grilled cheese sandwich. Look how far you’ve come!”

“Someone could have told me that the buttered part of the bread goes on the outside,” Cas grumbled.

Gabriel shook his head and chuckled. His little brother was incredibly smart—with numbers. Not so much with people or food. The Novak siblings chatted about their respective days, with Cas remaining mostly silent. He’d stayed at home, getting some extra work in despite the fact that it was Saturday. Gabriel had many stories and was very descriptive in his accounts of all the costumes that he’d seen throughout the Halloween event.

He always threw himself into every holiday that came along, with Christmas being Gabe’s favorite. The brothers had spent a few years in New York City near Lucifer, but hadn’t had the space to really decorate. Once Gabriel had gotten into his medical residency, they’d rented a house near the hospital, and every year, Gabe added to their collection of decorations. They’d become quite well-known in their old neighborhood for always having the best house around. And they definitely had plans to do it again this year—especially with a contest to sweeten the pot.

Now that Halloween was behind them, Gabriel went to the garage after dinner and began to pull out large boxes labelled for Christmas. He and Cas picked through them, while trying to decide how they wanted to go about their decorating for the year. Due to the amount of work they had to do, they knew they needed to spend the next few weeks getting organized so that come the Friday of the contest’s start, they could set right to work.

Gabriel pulled out a long string of fake garland and draped it around his shoulders like a boa while they worked. “Have you seen the pump for the gingerbread bouncy house?” Gabe asked, glancing around the mess.

Cas shook his head. “I still can’t believe you bought that.”

“It was on sale and it’s awesome!” Gabriel replied. “Besides, we haven’t had enough space to set it up yet, but we do now!”

“Do you think you’ll be able to convince Lucifer to dress up as Santa again this year? He said he wouldn’t after that boy threw up on him last year,” Cas wondered.

Gabe waved his hand, “He’ll do it if he wants to stay with us for the holidays. You know he can’t say ‘no’ to me.”

“You know that _you_ have the better temperament to deal with children,” Castiel pointed out. “More so than either of us.”

“Yeah,” Gabe admitted. “But if I’m playing Santa then how am I supposed to see everything that happens? And for that matter, how will I accept the trophy when we win if I’m busy?”

“You don’t know that we’re going to win,” Cas smiled at his brother’s enthusiasm.

“Oh, we’ll win,” Gabe was adamant. “By any means necessary.”

“The people at my office have said that our neighbors win every year,” Cas said casually. “The Winchesters. I haven’t met them yet,” Cas was fishing and Gabe knew it.

“They’re nice,” he said quietly.

“So you’ve spent the last few days in the company of the tall one just because he’s ‘nice?’” Castiel asked, poking him in the shoulder.

“Not just that,” Gabe grumbled. “I like him and I’m planning on having my way with him.”

“Even if he and his brother are our biggest competition for the decorating contest?”

“Yeah, that’s not going to get in the way of you and I winning this thing, okay?” Gabriel said, flicking the end of the garland around his body. “It’s casual at this stage and I want to win. Sam gets that. I think. It will be fine.”

His brother looked as though he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. Gabriel went back to pulling strings of lights out of one of the boxes. They were hopelessly tangled, so he set to work fixing them. It was just a contest. There was no way that something like that could come between him and Sam…right? Sure, whatever they had between them was new, but there was _something_ there. Something big. Gabriel knew that, and he was certain that a measly little town competition wouldn’t get in the way.


	6. Chapter 6

The days after Halloween tripped by quickly and without incident. The town of Mistletoe had pumpkins and paper turkeys in every window. The colorful leaves continued to fall, littering the walkways of the borough. Sam and Gabriel were both busy with their own things for the most part, but they still found the time to go out every once in a while. 

Nothing had progressed beyond a few heated kisses when they parted ways at the end of an evening, and the suspense was beginning to take its toll on Sam. What really irked the younger Winchester was that Gabriel seemed wholly unaffected by them taking it slow. He was always the first to pull away from a kiss, smile and say goodnight. It was driving Sam mad.

Each time Gabriel walked away, Sam had to fight the urge to just drag the smaller man somewhere and have his way with him. It was getting to be an issue. He hadn’t spent so much time jerking off since he was in high school, and it was starting to not even help in the long run.

A few days before Thanksgiving, Sam picked up Claire and Jack from their school with their mother’s permission so that they could walk around downtown and buy a few surprise gifts for the holidays. Dean had to work a little late that night, and would be meeting them for burgers later at the local diner. Sam had no intention of letting the youngsters use their meager pocket change and was planning on exercising his credit card that afternoon. The kids were excited when they piled into the back of his car, eager to find the perfect gift for their respective moms.

They stopped into ‘Santa’s Sleigh’ first, a small shop that catered to all things Christmas on the main drag. The kids each picked out an ornament for their tree as well as some thick hand-knit mittens for their mothers. Jack’s pair had large reindeer on it, while Claire’s had sparkly snowflakes adorning the pattern. Both kids were absolutely taken with the large stuffed teddy bears in the window and Sam made a mental note to come back with his brother and purchase them for their ‘siblings.’ The pretty young red-head, Anna, who owned the shop, agreed to discreetly place two of the bears in the back for Sam to return for later when he asked under his breath.

By the time they reached Twix Up Your Sleeve, snow was starting to lightly fall, coating their hats and jackets with white fluff. Sam held the door to the candy shop open and the two kids ran inside, stomping their boots. “Hey guys!” Gabe called from behind the counter.

His store had become a regular stop for the Winchesters when they had Jack and Claire with them. The two kids adored Gabriel, mostly because he spoke to them like equals and gave them free samples all the time. “I have peppermint fudge that needs to be eaten,” he smiled at the kids.

They eagerly held out their hands, waiting for the inevitably giant piece of candy that Gabe would cut for them. “Don’t eat it all,” Sam laughed when he saw the pieces that were the size of each child’s hand. “We’re getting burgers after this, remember?” He turned to Gabe. “You spoil them, you know.”

“That’s kind of the point of hanging out with kids that aren’t yours,” Gabe pointed out.

“I’m sure their mothers love that they’re always hyper when we bring them home now,” Sam said sarcastically. Gabriel laughed at him.

“That was really good,” Claire announced. “Do you think you can make mint chip sometime? That’s my favorite ice cream and I think it would be nice.”

Sam and Gabe turned to look at the kids, who now had completely empty hands. “Where did all of that fudge go?” Sam asked them.

Jack and Claire shrugged and looked guilty. “I ate it,” Jack finally admitted.

“All of it?” Sam’s eyes blew wide. Both kids nodded but smiled slyly. “Awesome. Thanks Gabe,” he shook his head.

“I didn’t tell them to eat it all,” Gabriel pointed out. “But honestly, who wouldn’t? My candy is amazing.” He turned to Claire. “Mint chip, huh? I think I could swing that.” Her eyes lit up and she clapped her hands wildly.

The bell on the shop door rang and Castiel walked in looking flustered. “Hello, Sam,” he said. He was introduced to the children and greeted them solemnly. He turned to look at his brother. “Do you have the keys?” Gabriel reached into his back pocket and tossed a jingling set of car keys to Cas who promptly dropped them on the ground. Cas retrieved them, grumbling slightly. “I’ll call you when I know what’s wrong,” he said.

“What’s going on?” Sam asked.

Gabriel shrugged. “My car is making a weird sound and I can’t leave the store unattended. Cassie is going to run it over to a shop and see if they can fix it before Thursday.”

“What shop are you taking it to?” Sam looked over at Castiel.

“I’m not sure,” the younger Novak admitted.

“My brother’s place is right up the street,” Sam told him. “I can give him a call and he’ll get you in right away.”

“You’d do that?” Gabriel asked.

“Of course.” Sam pulled out his phone and placed a quick call. Dean was more than happy to take a look at the car if it was brought in immediately. Thanking him, Sam hung up and gave Cas directions to Winchester Auto, telling him that he was expected. Cas left through the back to head over with Gabriel’s car, leaving them alone. “Well, I guess that’s going to happen,” Sam smiled once Cas was gone.

“What?”

“Your brother,” Sam said pointedly. “Is exactly _my_ brother’s type. And they haven’t met yet.”

“You sneaky little cupid,” Gabriel chuckled. “Fair warning though, I’ve met your brother and Cas is going to be totally awkward around him.”

“Why is that?”

“Cassie is a little…socially inept,” Gabriel told him. “Especially around hot guys.”

“So you think Dean is hot?” Sam grinned, teasing him.

“I think you’re much hotter,” Gabe said quietly.

“Good to know,” Sam smiled. “I mean, yeah Cas is pretty attractive, but he’s not my type either. _You_ on the other hand,” he trailed off.

“I would kiss you if we were alone right now,” Gabe told him seriously, which made Sam blush. “Everyone always thinks Cas is the prettiest. It’s kind of nice to be someone’s first choice of Novaks for once.”

Sam wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. He shuffled his feet a little and said, “Well since Dean is going to be running late, I should probably get these guys some dinner.” He looked down at Jack and Claire. “Are you two still hungry?”

“Yes,” Claire shouted. Jack just nodded.

“Okay,” Sam looked up at Gabriel and their eyes met. “I’ll see you later.”

“I hope so,” Gabriel smiled and waved them from the shop.

The three of them left, walking the few blocks down to the diner. Both Jack and Claire gripped his hands tightly when they crossed the street. Once they were all settled and waiting on their burgers and milkshakes, Sam let his mind wander a bit. He couldn’t seem to get Gabriel’s eyes out of his thoughts. He meant what he said—Cas _was_ a good looking guy—but to Sam, Gabriel was just breathtaking. It hurt him to think that the shorter man felt as though he wasn’t as worthy as his brothers. Sam decided then and there, that he was going to do his best to give this relationship a real chance. He wanted Gabriel Novak to know just how special he really was.

* * *

Castiel pulled his brother’s car into the lot for Winchester Auto, where it promptly sputtered and died. He slammed his fist on the dash and muttered a curse. He was unbuckling his seat belt when he was startled by a loud knock on the driver’s side window. When he turned to look, he was met with a pair of the greenest eyes he had ever seen. His breath actually caught and he had to swallow a few times before he realized that he should roll down the window. “You must be Gabe’s brother,” the man said to him with a smile. “Hi. I’m Dean Winchester. You know my giant brother Sam.”

“Yes, I do,” Cas managed. “I’m Castiel Novak. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“What seems to be the problem?” Dean was all business.

“Gabriel said that it was making a rattling sound earlier,” Cas told the mechanic. “But it just died and I don’t know why. It’s probably something expensive, isn’t it?”

Dean waited while Cas slid out of the driver’s seat, where he switched their places and turned the key a few times. He looked up at Cas who was hovering next to the car and grinned, trying and failing to hide his amusement. “Well, it’s out of gas, so that’s part of your problem,” he said.

“What?” Cas looked at the dash and sure enough, the gauge was sitting on empty. “Who doesn’t fill up the tank when it’s at half?” he wondered out loud.

“Lots of people,” Dean laughed, climbing out of the car. He popped into the open bay of the garage and returned moments later with a large red gas can. After filling up the tank with a few gallons, the car started right up. There was a distinct, ominous rattle coming from under the dash. Dean hummed at the sound for a minute before turning it off. “It sounds like something is stuck under the brake pad,” he said. “Did Gabe say anything about that?”

“No,” Castiel shook his head.

“Okay,” Dean slammed the driver’s door closed and pulled the car into the open bay. Once it was situated, he began to do some preliminary checks which all seemed to be in order. Cas hovered off the side watching and trying not to stare whenever Dean bent over. It was incredibly hard to avert his gaze when the mechanic looked so damn good in his tight jeans.

Dean worked the jack and got the car up in the air. Castiel watched as he removed the front right tire and started to poke around. A few minutes passed before Dean popped back out holding something small and yellow between his fingers. “I don’t even want to know how this happened,” he said.

“What is it?”

“Best guess,” Dean smiled. “It’s a lemon drop. Pretty calcified too, which is kind of gross.” He tossed the disgusting candy into a nearby trash can. “It was lodged up under the brake pad. Everything should be just fine now. Easy fix.” Dean got the tire back on in record time and lowered the car back down to the floor of the garage.

Cas shook his head and sighed. Only Gabriel would find a way to get candy stuck in his car somehow. “How much do I owe you?”

“On the house,” Dean grinned and rocked back on his heels. “I always give discounts to the cute ones.”

Castiel’s face turned bright red and he stared down at his own shoes. “Um, thank you,” he said quietly.

Dean was grinning at him when he dared to glance back up. “I was supposed to meet Sam and the two kids we mentor for dinner, but they’re probably finished by now,” he said casually. “You wouldn’t be interested in joining me for some greasy diner food, would you?”

Nervously, Cas found himself nodding. Dean’s face broke into a huge grin. “Great! I’m just going to close up. You can follow me over—it’s not far from here.”

He stood in the bay of the garage by his brother’s car and waited, wondering if he had just agreed to a date with the most attractive man he had ever seen.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry. I got diagnosed with bronchitis yesterday and spent the entire day in bed and didn't realize until this morning that I forgot to post a new chapter!! I'll try to put up another one later today to make up for it!

The Winchesters had a small Thanksgiving with just the three of them. Their father had come down with a cough, but still joined them at the table when the food was all finished. They were just digging in when John mentioned that he’d seen their Uncle Bobby a few days earlier. “He mentioned that those two boys across the street were gearing up for the decorating contest this year,” John’s voice was casual. “You two are friends with them, aren’t you?”

“Sort of,” Sam said.

“Sam’s dating the little one,” Dean piped in.

“Dean’s dating the quiet one,” Sam shot back.

“I am not,” Dean waved his fork at his brother. “We went to dinner. Once. That does _not_ make him my boyfriend.”

“Well Gabriel isn’t my boyfriend either,” Sam pointed out. “We’re casual.”

“The sad, mopey looks you have whenever you come back from going out with him speak volumes,” Dean said.

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“It means that you may be ‘casual,’ but you are secretly hoping that he wants you to be his boyfriend,” Dean smiled around a mouthful of potatoes. “You’re super obvious.” Sam snorted. “It’s a good thing! I mean, I honestly wasn’t sure if you’d ever want to date someone again after that…Ruby,” Dean said his ex’s name as though he wanted to use an entirely different word.

John grunted in agreement at the mention of Ruby. “As long as you two are happy,” he said. “I was just bringing it up because Bobby mentioned that those two were really looking to win this year. I know how seriously both of you take the contest and I don’t want it to come between you and your…friends…boyfriends…whatever they are.”

“It won’t,” Sam promised.

“Besides,” Dean grinned. “There’s no way they can win. We’ve got the best design this year—it’s in the bag!”

Their father hummed. “I know you boys do this to honor your mother’s memory,” he said slowly. “But just remember that there’s more to the season than winning a competition. I know how you two can get.”

“Okay, dad,” Sam said.

“Yeah, of course,” Dean agreed. “But…we’re still gonna win.” The three Winchesters laughed and continued with their meal, talking about where they were going to start on their decorating in the morning. The first official day of the competition was upon them, and they _did_ plan to take home the trophy, just as they did every year.

* * *

Gabriel’s alarm went off at four in the morning the day after Thanksgiving. He knew that as a small business owner, he was going to have a busy weekend. But there wasn’t a moment to waste if he and Cas were going to dominate the town’s decorating contest. He planned to spend every minute that he wasn’t at the shop, getting the yard ready.

Once he was all ready to go, teeth brushed and bundled up in his warmest coat, Gabe proceeded to fling open the door to Cas’ bedroom and bounce on the end of his brother’s bed. “It’s late!” he yelled. “You promised you’d help before I have to leave for the store.”

“Go away or I’ll punch you in the face,” Cas screamed into his pillow. “You’re horrible and I hate you.”

“Get up! Get up! Get up!” Gabe bounced the mattress with every word.

Castiel sat up in bed and yanked on his blankets, forcing Gabriel to lose his balance and topple over onto the floor with a crash. “Go away.”

“You suck,” Gabe said from the floor. “Now my elbow hurts and you’re breaking your promise.”

Groaning, Cas looked at his clock and rolled his eyes. “I said I’d help, but not at four thirty in the morning. You have a problem, and you need a Christmas Intervention. Come back when the sun is up.” With that he flopped back down into his bed and rolled over, pointedly ignoring Gabe climbing to his feet and cussing him out.

“Fine,” Gabriel said as he left. “But just so you know, Luci is now my favorite brother.”

“I’m okay with that,” Cas mumbled from under his covers.

Gabriel made sure to stomp his feet loudly as he went downstairs. He opened up the garage door and began to drag boxes out into the yard. Technically, he was a little behind schedule. The contest rules stated that decorating could begin at midnight on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but Gabe had been tired and opted to go to bed instead of working through the night. He wasn’t completely insane, no matter what his brother thought.

He decided to start with the large bushes lining the front of the house since they would be the easiest to complete before he had to leave for work. As he unwrapped the lights and began to set them out, he heard the sound of a garage door opening across the street. He watched as all three Winchesters started hauling boxes and ladders out into their own yard, each of them wearing tiny headlamps so they could see and still have the use of both hands. He followed Sam’s shape in the darkness as he plugged in the first string of his own lights.

At the sudden illumination, his neighbors turned toward him, noticing that he too was starting to get ready for the competition. Sam waved happily, while Dean seemed to ignore him and start to set up their own supplies. Gabriel busied himself wrapping lights around almost every branch of the bushes and didn’t notice when Sam walked up behind him. “Where’s Cas?”

Gabe jumped straight up in the air, dropping his lights and spinning around. “You gave me a heart attack, kiddo!”

“Sorry,” Sam laughed. “I didn’t know you were so twitchy.”

“I am when a giant person sneaks up on me in the dark.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“See that you do,” Gabe said. “You’re pretty stealthy for someone with such big feet.”

“My feet aren’t the only thing about me that’s big,” Sam laughed suggestively.

“See,” Gabriel shook his finger at the younger man. “Here you are, trying to distract me from my tasks, saying shit like that. You’re evil Sam Winchester.” Sam laughed loudly at him which made Gabriel smile.

“Sammy!” Dean called from across the road. “I need your giant ass over here to reach the roof line! Stop flirting with the enemy!”

Sam rolled his eyes, but turned to leave. “Good luck with the contest, Gabe,” he said.

“Yeah, kiddo,” Gabriel smiled. “You too.”

* * *

The Winchesters were still working when Gabriel packed his things away and drove off, heading into the shop. The only thing he’d managed to do was cover most of the front bushes with twinkling lights. Dean grinned at his brother, “See…nothing to worry about,” he commented. “That’s probably all he’ll end up doing. We’ve got this.”

Sam wasn’t so sure. In the short time that he’d been acquainted with the Novaks, he could tell that they were all pretty competitive in their own way. He had a feeling that Dean was going to be very disappointed as the month went on.

They managed to get icicle lights along the roof, as well as strings around each window on the front of the house before John had a coughing fit and they decided to take a break for lunch. Dean got John settled into his favorite chair with a large blanket, while Sam heated up some tomato soup and started making grilled cheese sandwiches for each of them. They ate in the living room, trying to figure out what part of the yard they wanted to tackle next.

After they cleaned up, the brothers insisted that John stay inside and relax for a while, while they kept at it. By the time the sun was beginning to sink, there were lights around the trunks of all the trees as well. The brothers decided that it was a good start and headed inside for the rest of the night. Every once in a while, Dean would wander over to the window and peek out from the curtains. He made regular announcements that nothing more had been done on the Novak’s residence and it seemed to please him greatly. Sam just shook his head and tried to pay attention to the Doctor Sexy, MD rerun that Dean had insisted upon watching. He knew that there was no way that Gabriel was finished, but he didn’t have the heart to dash his brother’s hopes just yet.

* * *

“What do you _mean_ you didn’t do anything?” Gabe said into the phone. “You said you’d help Cassie. I can’t do this myself, you know.”

His brother sighed on the other end of the line. “I’m tired and we have an entire month to finish. I think it will be okay.”

“A month isn’t that long,” Gabriel insisted. He was trying to check out a customer while arguing with his brother. He handed over the woman’s change and covered the receiver of the phone saying, “I’m sorry,” as she left.

He waved Charlie over to run the register while he slipped into the back office. “Can you at least get the reindeer out before I get home?”

“I can try,” Cas sounded as though he would rather do anything else in the world.

“Do that,” Gabe said firmly. “Try. Really hard.”

Castiel mumbled something unintelligible and hung up. Gabriel seriously considered throwing the phone across the room but thought better of it. He went back out front of the shop and leaned on the counter. “Problems in Holiday Paradise?” Charlie asked.

“Cas promised to help with the display and he’s…not,” Gabriel sighed. “If I have to do this all myself, we aren’t going to win and I’ll probably snap at some point.”

Charlie clicked her tongue. “I could swing by and help sometime,” she offered.

“Really?” Gabe brightened. “You’d do that?”

“Sure,” she shrugged. “We’re friends. And I love the Winchesters, I do—but it would be nice to see them have a little competition this year,” she grinned slyly.

“Thanks,” Gabriel smiled. “You’re welcome to come by anytime. I’ll put you to work.”

“I will, however, require a batch of chocolate cherry fudge as payment,” she laughed.

“No problem,” Gabe promised. “So,” he tried to sound casual. “The Winchester’s display is really that good? Always the winners with not much competition?”

Charlie nodded. “Yeah, they really go all out for Christmas because of—“ She stopped as the bell on the shop’s door chimed.

They both looked up as Dean Winchester himself sauntered in. He walked up to the counter and leaned on it, smiling at them both. “Hey Charlie,” he winked. “Long time.”

“Yeah,” she said politely. “You’ve kind of avoided me since your Senior Prom.”

Dean flushed and looked down. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

“What happened?” Gabriel was curious.

Laughing, Charlie turned to her boss and said, “Dean asked me to be his date for the dance and he couldn’t understand why I shot him down.”

“I didn’t know that I wasn’t your type,” Dean said. “It was a little hard for me to understand at seventeen that not everyone wanted to jump me.”

“Especially when you have a dick and you know that’s not my thing,” Charlie poked him in the shoulder. “It was pretty funny though. He moped around for about a week before Sam finally told him that I like the ladies.” She smiled fondly at Dean. “So? What are you here for?”

“Just checking out the competition,” Dean seemed to regain some of his usual swagger as he eyed Gabriel. “I’ve heard you and Cas are planning to go all out for your first year. Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

Gabriel narrowed his eyes into a frown. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“I just noticed that you didn’t get much done today,” Dean said slyly. “There’s no shame in bowing out gracefully.”

“It’s the first day, bucko,” Gabriel straightened to his full height, which was still shorter than Dean and that pissed him off. “Don’t count us out yet.”

Dean smirked at him. “This is going to be fun.”

“Count on it,” Gabriel shot back.

They stared each other down for a full minute with Charlie glancing between them warily. “Do I need to get a ruler?” she finally said.

“What? No,” Dean finally looked away. He shot a wink at both of them and walked out, the small bell ringing as the door shut behind him.

“Wow, psyching out the competition already,” Charlie commented.

“He’s more serious than I thought,” Gabriel said. “This could be a problem.”

“You’re telling me,” Charlie said, swinging away and heading to the back.

Gabriel stood, staring at the door for a long while after Dean left. All right then, he thought. If the Winchesters wanted a real contest, then Gabe was happy to oblige.


	8. Chapter 8

Within a week, both the Winchester and Novak residences were lit up brightly enough to attract attention from most of the town. People went out of their way to drive down the street and stare at both houses. Citizens began to talk, voicing aloud that perhaps this year, the Winchesters may not emerge victorious.

Both yards were adorned with an incredible amount of twinkling lights in a variety of colors. There were also inflatable creatures, as well as wooden statues, plastic candy canes lining the driveways, and carols emitting from outside speakers. In his yard, Dean had even displayed a new motion activated Santa Claus to wave at passersby. Gabriel glowered when he saw it and immediately began assembling the small red shack for the end of their drive where he would force his brother to play Santa on Christmas Eve.

Dean upped the ante by placing a giant likeness of a snowman on the Winchester’s roof that looked down onto the street in a slightly disturbing manner. Gabriel bought some lights that flashed along to the carols on his speakers. Dean added some reindeer that blinked and moved their heads. Sometime around the second week of December, both Castiel and Sam stopped helping their brothers add anything to the giant debacle that had become both of their yards, announcing that Gabe and Dean were bordering on insane.

One Friday night, Castiel mysteriously left the house saying that he had an appointment, leaving his brother alone with an undecorated tree. Gabriel called Sam as soon as Cas pulled out of the driveway and invited him over. Sam agreed since his father was still under the weather and Dean ‘had a date,’ that he wouldn’t talk about.

When Gabriel answered the door Sam actually laughed out loud. The shorter man was wearing the most hideous holiday sweater that Sam had ever seen and he looked ridiculous. “Wow,” Sam commented as he stepped into the Novak house. “That’s…something.”

“It lights up too,” Gabe reached under the hem and poked around for a second before small bulbs began to flash all over the shirt.

“I can’t handle that,” Sam said. “Turn it off. You’re giving me a seizure.”

“You have no festive cheer,” Gabriel shook his head, pretending to be offended. Once his sweater stopped blinking, he reached up and pulled Sam down to him, pressing him into a long kiss. They broke apart and Gabe was smirking at him. “Come on,” he pulled on Sam’s hand. “Cassie ditched me and I need your help decorating my tree.”

“I guess that means you want someone to put the angel on the top?” Sam teased him.

“Ha, ha,” Gabriel deadpanned. “I _do_ own a step ladder. But,” he grinned. “If you’re offering? Just make sure that when you reach up, your shirt rides high enough so I can admire your abs.”

“Of course,” Sam said in mock seriousness. “That can be your Christmas present.”

“Kiddo,” Gabe laughed. “I’m going to want more than a flash of skin for a gift.”

Sam grabbed the smaller man to him and kissed him soundly as they tripped into the living room. He finally managed to pull away when he caught sight of the tree out of the corner of his eye. “Holy crap!” Sam stared. “That’s like ten feet tall!”

“Yeah,” Gabe winked. “I like the big ones.”

“You are so creepy,” Sam laughed at him.

“You love it,” Gabe shot back at him. He bounded over to the tree and bent down to plug in the lights, wiggling his hips just to irritate Sam.

Glancing around the room at the boxes piled up full of ornaments, Sam said, “Where do you want to start?”

Gabe dug around in one of the bins and pulled something out. “You mentioned the angel,” he said, handing it to Sam.

It took Sam a moment to realize what he was looking at. It was a homemade tree topper that was definitely supposed to be an angel due to the wings and crooked halo. But it had rolling googly eyes and was dressed in a felt jacket that looked suspiciously like Castiel’s favorite trench coat. “Is this what I think it is?”

Laughing, Gabriel nodded. “Luci knew a girl in the city who made these things,” he said. “So as a joke one year, we had her make little angels for the trees. One that looks like each of us. You know,” he clarified. “Since we’re all named after angels.”

“Wow,” Sam said. He just started laughing and couldn’t seem to stop. “You are all so weird,” he finally said.

“I know,” Gabe smiled. “We kept Cas. Luci has me and our parents took the one of him. Fun fact—the little Lucifer angel has red eyes that you can plug into the tree so they light up. My dad thought it was hilarious.”

“Oh my god,” Sam laughed. “Is yours really tiny?”

“Shut up,” Gabe punched him in the shoulder. “Yes. It is.”

“I knew it.”

“Just put my brother on top of the tree, you giant,” Gabriel said.

Sam looked up toward the ceiling. “Yeah, I’m actually going to need a ladder for this.”

Gesturing behind him, Gabriel pointed out a small ladder leaning against the wall. “Help yourself.”

Sam wobbled a little as he climbed but managed to get the Castiel tree topper up on the first last branch. Gabe whooped as he climbed down. “Cassie always hopes I’ll forget to put it on every year,” he said happily. “He hates it.”

“I can’t imagine why.”

They busied themselves with decorating, unwrapping ornaments and finding the perfect place for them on the large tree. Gabriel had a story about almost every single one and he chattered away happily. Sam thought it was adorable and just smiled, occasionally asking a question to clarify information. After an hour or so, the boxes were emptied and the tree was trimmed.

They stood next to each other in front of the finished tree, smiling. Sam looped his arm around Gabe’s shoulder and yanked him close to his side. “Not half bad,” he commented.

“Are you kidding?” Gabriel looked up at him. “It’s the second prettiest thing in this room.”

“You are so cheesy,” Sam admonished, even as he leaned down for a kiss.

After a few heated kisses, they finally broke apart and Gabriel tilted his head and looked up at Sam. “I was thinking,” he began.

“That makes me nervous,” Sam joked. He saw the look that Gabe shot him and closed his mouth, trying to force his face to look more serious. “Okay, you were thinking,” he prompted.

“Are you still on board with trying this out for real?” Gabe actually sounded nervous. Not that Sam could blame him. He’d practically shot the idea down five minutes into their first date, and not much had progressed since then beyond kissing and one grope in the parking lot behind the candy store.

“Are you asking me out?” Sam wanted to clarify.

Gabriel nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving Sam’s. “I’m kind of hoping that you’ll be my boyfriend. You know,” he said, trying for levity. “Since its Christmas and all that.”

Sam could tell that despite the teasing tone, that Gabriel was dead serious and incredibly anxious. If their roles were reversed, he knew that Gabe would crack a joke, but Sam didn’t have the heart to do that when the shorter man looked so jumpy. “I’d like that,” he said finally.

Gabriel’s body visibly relaxed and he flung his arms around Sam’s neck, almost knocking him into the tree. They fell together, kissing, finally as an actual couple and both of them were loving it. Gabe’s hands slid down Sam’s chest, pulling at the taller man’s shirt. Despite how quickly things had progressed since Sam had stepped foot in the house that night, he found that he was actually beyond ready for something to finally happen. Before he knew it, his shirt was flying over his head and landing somewhere on the couch behind them. He was pulling at Gabe’s insane light-up sweater when someone coughed behind them. They jumped apart and saw Cas standing in the doorway staring at them and blinking way too much. “I am so sorry,” Cas stammered. “I um,” he looked down at the floor. “I’m leaving. Carry on.”

They watched him practically flee from the room before they both started laughing. “Note to self,” Gabriel joked. “Keep our activities out of the common areas of the house when you live with your brother.”

“I should probably go anyway,” Sam said glumly. “It’s kind of late and I have three classes worth of term papers to grade tomorrow.”

“That sounds truly horrible,” Gabriel told him. “It’s fine. I have to be at the shop by six tomorrow morning anyway.”

They smiled at one another for a moment, neither of them actually wanting to part. Finally Sam retrieved his shirt and pulled it back on with a groan. “Another time,” he promised.

“I’m holding you to that,” Gabriel winked at him. “Hey,” his voice softened. “One more kiss from my boyfriend before you scurry away?” He even managed a little pout which was so adorable that Sam knew he could never resist.

They shared a quick kiss, not allowing their hands to roam before Sam finally said goodnight and headed back home across the way. Gabe watched from the door through the falling snow until he saw that Sam was safely inside. Then he locked up his own house for the night and knew that he was going to have wonderful, incredibly sexy dreams.

* * *

Sam was already asleep when his brother finally got home that night. He was dreaming happily in his room and he never noticed the figure crossing the street and fiddling around on the side of the Novak house in the wee hours of the morning. 

Likewise, both Gabriel and Cas were snug in their beds and never heard the scraping sounds coming from their yard. Which was why, in the morning, Gabriel was so surprised to find that none of his lights would turn on.


	9. Chapter 9

“What do you mean the lights inside are fine?” Gabriel screamed into the darkness. His brother glared at him through the open front door and started to flick the switch on making the hallway lamps blink repeatedly.

“I mean that everything is working in here,” Cas said patiently. “What else could I mean?”

“Then why aren’t they working out here?” Gabe shouted. “The timer is supposed to make them turn on at six every evening and off again a six in the morning. It’s four-thirty right now which means they should be on!”

“Yes,” Cas nodded and raised his eyebrows. “It _is_ four-thirty. In the morning. Which is why you shouldn’t be _screaming_ because I’m sure some of our neighbors would enjoy their sleep. You’re being rude.”

“Well someone else was being rude last night when they sabotaged my lights!”

“You don’t know that it’s sabotage,” Cas said. “There could be a power outage.”

Gabriel snorted and rolled his eyes even though his brother couldn’t see him. “If it was a power outage then the inside lights would be off too, genius.”

“I’m not arguing about this, Gabriel,” Cas sighed. “It’s too early. I’m going to bed. We can figure it out later.” He slammed the door shut with finality, leaving Gabe standing in the snow, seething.

Gabe narrowed his eyes as something occurred to him. He turned slowly and looked across the street and the merrily lighted Winchester house. He knew that Sam wouldn’t pull a stunt like this, which meant that it was Dean. It had to be. He spit out a curse and stomped around the side of the house where the main outdoor electrical outlet was hidden. Gabriel had to crawl through some snow-covered bushes, swearing up a storm to reach the plug.

The long heavy-duty extension cord was still plugged into the socket. He pulled it out harshly and bent down to examine the actual outlet. Right in the corner, barely visible was the end of a thin wire. He actually growled low in his throat and scuttled back through the bushes toward the garage. He found a slotted screwdriver and a flashlight, stalking back outside. After a string of inventive curses when a large pile of snow plopped off of the roof and down the back of his jacket, he reached the electrical box again.

Gabe grit his teeth and used the screwdriver to loosen the plate. Once the cover was off of the electrical unit he could see the damage. Some of the wires had been loosened ever so slightly so that they weren’t entirely connected to the house’s system any longer. “Son of a bitch, Dean!” he screamed into the night.

It took him almost fifteen minutes to get everything connected and re-tightened before all of the lights on his house blinked back on and began to flash. He clumped back toward the garage, losing his balance when he tripped over the untied laces of his boots and fell face first into a pile of snow. He actually lay there for a full minute thinking about his life choices before he finally got up.

Once he was in the kitchen and trying to dry off with a hand towel, he realized that he should have left for work half an hour ago. He ran upstairs and finished changing into his clothes for the day as quickly as he could, barely remembering to lock the house as he ran out to his car and sped away. Oh, it was on, Dean Winchester. It was on.

* * *

“What are you so happy about this morning?” Sam asked after his brother had continued to hum under his breath with a creepy little smile on his face.

Dean laughed and drank some of his coffee. “Notice anything about Novak’s house this morning?”

Sam furrowed his brow. “No. Why?”

“Oh nothing,” Dean grinned. “It was probably too early this morning. Just wait until tonight when it gets dark—you’ll see.”

“Dean,” Sam said. “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” Dean gave him an innocent look that didn’t fool Sam for a moment.

“You better not have done anything to my boyfriend’s house,” Sam told him with a glare.

“Your boyfriend?” Dean snorted. “Really?”

“Yes, Dean,” Sam said in exasperation. “We sort of became official last night when I was over there.”

Dean wiggled his eyebrows. “Did you get some?”

“We were interrupted. Why? Did you?” Sam asked pointedly. “I mean, you _did_ have a ‘hot date’ last night, didn’t you?”

“I might have,” Dean said, turning away and changing the subject. “Don’t get your panties in a twist Samantha. It’s nothing permanent. You’re precious _boyfriend_ will be just fine. Just a little prank, that’s all.”

“If you messed with his lights, he’ll probably kill you,” Sam said.

“Yeah, sorry,” Dean chuckled. “But he’s the size of a ninja turtle. Gabriel doesn’t exactly scare me.”

“Ninja turtles are the same size as all the humans in their world,” Sam said in confusion.

“Nice try, Sam,” Dean said. “They’re four feet tall.”

“Gabe is not four feet tall.”

“Compared to you, he might as well be.”

“Bitch.”

“Jerk.”

“If you ruined his lights, I’m taking his side,” Sam called as Dean left, still laughing.

“No you won’t,” Dean called back, slamming the door to his bedroom.

* * *

Gabriel had to resort to begging, which was beneath him, but desperate times called for desperate measures. After ten minutes of pleading and offering Kevin a small raise, the teen agreed to forgo studying for one afternoon and come in to cover while Gabe ‘ran an errand.’ By the time Kevin arrived, Gabriel was practically jumping out of his skin. “I don’t have much time,” he told the teenager as he watched Kevin slowly hand up his jacket.

“I got here as fast as I could,” Kevin said. “I was in the middle of an online SAT assessment when you called. I probably did horribly on it too because it was graded by times and you interrupted me for like, a year.”

Gabe rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry. You’re the best. I’ll only be gone for two hours, I’m hoping and then you can go right back to your Honor Roll Hell.”

“Thanks,” Kevin said sarcastically. “Don’t worry about it,” he told Gabe. “Really. I needed a break and this was probably the only excuse my mom would have accepted. You’re sort of doing me a favor, honestly.”

“Now I feel less guilty, so that’s good,” Gabriel said.

Kevin laughed. “Yeah, I don’t think you felt guilty at all.”

“I really didn’t,” Gabe said. “Anyway, you’re a rock star! Awesome and amazing! Thank you so much, I’ve gotta go!”

He dashed out to his car and broke a few speed laws driving home. He didn’t have a lot of time before Sam and Dean would be home from their respective jobs and he had to make sure that he was back at work and looking completely innocent before that happened. After digging through some of the older boxes near the back of the garage, he finally found what he was looking for. For some reason, he’d saved the old strands of large-bulbed lights that his parents had used on their tree when he was young. He never used them now after Cas had explained that they were something of a fire hazard, but he didn’t have the heart to throw them away. They would do perfectly.

Gabriel grabbed enough strands for his project and set to work. It didn’t take him very long to concoct the device that he needed out of the electrical wire holding the lights. When he was finished, he sat back and laughed. A quick check of the time told him that he was right on schedule. He peeked out of the garage and made sure that both of the Winchester brother’s cars were still missing before grabbing a tall ladder and dragging it across the street.

He unearthed the largest snowman statue in the Winchester yard from the piles of snow surrounding it and began to work his magic. If Dean wanted to play dirty and disconnect his lights, then Gabriel wasn’t going to take that lying down. No one got away with pranking him. Absolutely no one.

* * *

When Sam got home from work that night, he pulled into the driveway and turned off his car. He almost didn’t notice anything different about the yard until the timer kicked in and the whole house lit up. With the amount of illumination from the décor, it was a fairly obvious change. He stared at the house for a full minute before he finally broke out laughing and shook his head. At least Gabe was somewhat creative.

As he walked inside, he glanced across the street and noticed that nothing seemed out of the ordinary at the Novaks. He wasn’t sure what exactly his brother had done, but it was most certainly _something_ judging by the new decorations in the Winchester yard. Whatever Dean had gotten up to, Gabriel had struck back.

Sam busied himself making a large thermos of hot chocolate that he poured some peppermint schnapps into before he bundled up and went back out front to wait for Dean’s arrival. He was stamping his feet on the icy sidewalk for about ten minutes before he heard the rumble of the Impala’s engine coming into the neighborhood.

When Dean pulled up and got out, he didn’t notice anything off right away either. “What are you doing out here?” Dean called as he locked up his car.

“I like what you’ve done with the place,” Sam commented innocently, taking a sip of his alcoholic hot cocoa.

“What?” Dean scrunched up his nose and looked at him in confusion.

Sam inclined his head toward the house and watched Dean’s face carefully. He knew the exact moment that his brother saw the new addition. “That son-of-a-bitch!” Dean shouted.

He doubled over laughing at Dean’s outburst. When he managed to compose himself, Dean was still swearing up a storm and glaring at the corner of their house. One of the large snowmen statues from the yard had been hung up along the eves near the last window. It had a brightly lit noose around its neck made of old-fashioned Christmas bulbs that were blinking erratically, illuminating the entire scene. It was messed up and slightly creepy, but Sam didn’t find it threatening at all. He thought it was actually pretty hilarious. Dean, however, did not.

“What an ass!” Dean yelled in the direction of the empty Novak house.

“You started it,” Sam pointed out. “I mean, I don’t see anything wrong now, but you implied that you messed with his lights.”

“I loosened some wires so the dumb things wouldn’t turn on,” Dean snapped. “It was a joke.”

“Well, obviously Gabe didn’t think it was very funny,” Sam said, hiding his smile behind his gloved hand.

“You tell your little boyfriend that this is freaking _war_!” Dean shouted as he stomped into the house to get a ladder. “I have to spend the night taking this mess down so we don’t get docked points in case anyone reports it to the judging committee.”

“Uncle Bobby is a judge this year,” Sam reminded him. “He would probably think it was funny too, you know.”

“War!” Dean yelled. “That little prick isn’t getting away with this! How did he even get up there to string the poor snowman up? A bucket truck?”

Sam broke out into a new round of laughter. His brother was over-reacting and it was just making everything even funnier to the younger Winchester. “He’s obviously a sneaky bastard,” Dean continued. “I mean, dad was home all day. How did he do it without making noise?” Sam shrugged and shook with another chuckle. “You shouldn’t be dating someone so underhanded Sam,” Dean was lecturing as he climbed up the ladder and started to untangle the snowman. “You can do better.”

“I’m perfectly happy with Gabriel,” Sam informed his brother. “Just,” he laughed again. “Don’t take this too far, okay? Remember that you fired the first shot.”

Dean grumbled something under his breath and finally freed the statue. He chucked it angrily down into the snow at Sam’s feet splashing his younger brother with some ice. “I’m a gentleman,” Dean said. “So make sure you give him fair warning. I’m coming for his ass now.”

“Okay Dean,” Sam said, walking back inside. “You do that.”

The snowman lay half buried in the deep snow of the front yard as Sam retreated into the house. Before he shut the door, he saw Dean throw the lighted noose across the yard as he screamed, “I hate you, Novak!”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Gabriel in this chapter just about killed me...

The War of the Holiday Lights, as it began to be called around town ramped up in the following days. Most people thought it was endlessly amusing, especially with the dynamic of Sam and Gabriel’s new relationship. It honestly hadn’t suffered at all, much to Dean’s chagrin. He kept asking Sam to dump Gabe whenever something else would go wrong with the Winchester’s display. For their part, Sam and Castiel were staying completely out of the whole thing. It was funny, sure, but it was also a little disturbing as to how crazy two grown men were going over a simple contest and a few plastic reindeer.

Dean hit back by hiring a few of the high school students to egg the Santa Shack at the end of Gabriel’s driveway. Unfortunately, it snowed quite hard that night and a new layer of frost hit the air. By the time Gabe noticed the gloppy mess of cracked eggs covering the cheery red paint of the hut, it had frozen completely. He spent over an hour chipping it off with a butter knife and bitching to Sam that his brother was a ‘monster.’ Sam just laughed at him and made him drink plenty of cocoa once he got back inside. The key to his boyfriend’s heart was most definitely sugar-coated.

Gabriel retaliated by taking out an ad in the local paper asking for help to remove holiday decorations from ‘his’ house, complete with a day’s pay. Of course, the address he gave in the advertisement was the Winchester’s. A few teenagers turned up on Sunday morning and had managed to remove most of the lights from the large trees in the yard before Dean came home and freaked out. Gabe was standing across the street laughing at him until Dean pelted him in the face with a giant snowball. The confused teens scattered when Dean began yelling, but nothing much came of it and they all went home with fifty bucks a piece and a gift certificate for Twix Up Your Sleeve.

The week before the competition, the sheriff, Jody Mills, herself, actually stopped by and spoke to Gabe and Dean respectively and told them to lighten up. No one was in trouble with the law just yet, but she warned them that she wasn’t above _making_ them stop if need be. Both men agreed to leave each other’s displays alone and concentrate on just making their own even _more._ She told them that wasn’t what she meant, but she’d take it and drove off shaking her head.

It was getting down to the wire, and since it was a town competition, Gabe and Dean weren’t the only people entering. By the time the weekend rolled around, most stores had been picked completely clean of decorations and it was difficult to find even the smallest thing.

Gabriel walked into the hardware store feeling defeated. He’d been to just about every place in town that sold holiday lights in the past few hours and everyone was completely sold out. This was literally his last hope. He walked up to the register and asked the teenager behind the counter where the lights would be located. Just as the kid was about to respond, a large hand slapped down onto the counter next to him. He turned to look up at Dean Winchester’s grinning face. “I’d be mighty happy to know where those lights are as well,” the green-eyed man smiled smugly.

Rolling his eyes, Gabe said, “I was here first.”

“I need lights too, short-stack.”

Gabe felt himself bristle and he glared at his boyfriend’s brother. “Back off Winchester,” he growled.

The teenaged cashier was looking between them as though he was worried a fight was about to break out. He pointed shakily toward the back of the store and said, “I’m pretty sure we’re all out,” he said. “But there might be a few on the display in the back.”

“Thanks,” both men said as they turned away and began walking toward the rear of the store.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes when he saw that Dean was picking up the pace ever so slightly. He hurried himself along, trying to match the taller man’s stride. Dean moved quicker, dashing around a large set-up of power tools and Gabriel matched his movements. Within minutes they were both sprinting down the main aisle of the store. The small cardboard display at the end of the row was now visible and both of them registered at the same moment that there was only one box of lights left.

Dean broke into a full run. Knowing that he’d never be able to keep up with his shorter legs, Gabriel jumped and launched himself at Dean’s back. He wrapped his arms around the other man’s neck and they both crashed to the ground. “You’re insane!” Dean shouted, clawing at Gabe’s fingers.

“Those lights are mine!”

“I saw them first!”

“You did not!”

“I need them more than you,” Dean tried.

Gabe laughed, tightening his grip on Dean’s worn leather jacket. “I don’t think so. I’ve been searching for lights all freaking day!”

The two men rolled around on the floor, pulling at each other’s clothing, trying to hold the other back from the last little box of lights. They hit a stacked display of small varnish cans which immediately collapsed and began rolling down the aisle around them. The two of them were clawing at one another, even going so far as to pull hair, but not inflict any actual damage in their scuffle. It was more slap-fight than full brawl, which Gabriel found slightly pathetic.

They didn’t even notice when Sheriff Jody Mills walked up to the display and picked up the lone box, staring down at them. She cleared her throat loudly, and both men stopped grappling to look up at her from their tangled position on the floor. “Is everything all right here gentlemen?”

“Yes,” they both said sheepishly.

“I’m so happy that I managed to find these,” she grinned and shook the box of holiday lights at them both. “I’m pretty sure it’s the very last box in town.”

Dean and Gabriel stayed on the floor, still grabbing onto the other one, watching as Jody sauntered up to the register and paid for the lights. She handed over her money and turned back to smile at them. “Have a great Christmas you two,” she winked as she left.

Gabe heaved himself up to a seated position, a pout on his face. Dean looked just as upset. “I hope you’re happy,” Dean grumbled. “Now neither of us have them.”

Sighing and pulling himself to his feet, Gabe said, “I wasn’t going to tackle the freaking sheriff.”

“But you’d jump on _my_ back?” Dean stood as well and stared down at him.

“Obviously,” Gabriel was dusting himself off.

Both of them turned and looked at the empty display. “Well, I guess it’s time to use my free two day shipping online then,” Gabriel said smirking.

“I bet mine will get here in _one_ day,” Dean shot back.

“Oh, it is _on_ , Winchester!” 

* * *

Sam was waiting for Dean when he got home. The living room was completely dark when Dean stepped in. He jumped when the lamp next to the couch flicked on, revealing Sam sitting there watching him. “So,” Sam said. “Why did I get a call from Jody about you and Gabriel beating the crap out of each other at the hardware store?”

Dean snorted. “There wasn’t much beating coming from your boyfriend.”

He shot Dean a look. “Doubtful. He’s scrappy.”

“I don’t want to know what you two get up to behind closed doors,” Dean joked.

“Very funny,” Sam said. “We haven’t…done…that.”

“Good,” Dean slumped down into their father’s usual chair. “Because as of now, Gabriel Novak is Public Enemy Number One. I missed out on the last box of lights because of him.”

“I can’t believe the two of you were acting like that in public,” Sam shook his head. “You’re both such…children.”

“Hey—your boy toy attacked _me_ ,” Dean pointed out.

“Yeah,” Sam acknowledged. “I’m going to talk to him too. You guys need to calm down. It’s a contest, not the end of the world.”

“We win. Every year.” Dean said firmly. “I’m not backing off now. Not for a guy who has no qualms about tackling me to the floor.”

Sam bit back a laugh at the mental image. “So,” he said finally. “He actually took you down?”

“Shut up,” Dean grumbled as Sam finally started cackling. “He’s tiny, but he’s like a small condensed ball of rage.” 

Sam was full-on laughing at him now. “I would have paid good money to see that.”

“Just watch out,” Dean told him seriously. “He might honestly be able to knock your giant ass down.”

“I don’t see that happening,” Sam said, still chuckling as he stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“I talked to you,” Sam said. “Now I’m going to talk to Gabe.”

“Give him hell,” Dean shouted after him. “Tell him I’m coming for him.”

“I’m not going to do that,” Sam said, slamming the door behind him.

It was starting to snow as he pulled his coat around him and walked across the street. The front lights were on, along with the pieces of completed holiday display, so he knew that someone was home. He stepped up to the door and rang the bell. The sound of footsteps could be faintly heard from inside before the door swung open revealing Castiel staring at him. “I was expecting you,” he sighed, ushering Sam into the house.

The smell of freshly baked cookies was wafting through the house and an obnoxiously loud rock cover of a carol was blaring from a hidden speaker. Sam stomped his snowy boots on the mat and tried to smile at Cas. “I take you heard?”

“Yes,” Castiel said. “One of my coworkers was there. He was almost knocked down when they were flailing around on the floor. He called me immediately.”

“Awesome,” Sam sighed. “I’m sure the entire town has heard by now.”

“I’ve already expressed my displeasure to my brother,” Cas told him. “I’m sure you would like to as well. He’s in the kitchen.”

He followed Cas down the hall toward the brightly lit and spacious kitchen. Gabriel was sitting on the countertop, scooping cookie dough out of a large silver bowl with a giant spoon so that he could eat it. “You’re not double dipping with that are you?” Cas eyed his brother suspiciously.

Gabriel flinched and shook his head, but it was an obvious lie. “Hey, kiddo!” he smiled when he saw Sam. “What’s going on?”

He raised his eyebrows and stared his boyfriend down. “Really? You think I don’t know about you mauling my brother in the hardware store?”

“Mauling is an exaggeration,” Gabriel shook the spoon at him, flinging dough around. “I needed those lights, and your brother has freakishly long legs, just like you. I did what I had to do.”

“This is getting out of hand,” Sam tried to remain stern, but he really wanted to ask if anyone had got the altercation on film. “You two need to stop.”

Gabriel pretended to consider it before shaking his head and licking some more dough off of the wooden spoon. “No,” he said. “Cas and I are going to win this year. I’m determined.”

“Leave me out of this,” Castiel grumbled. “I want no part of this any longer.”

“I’m right there with you,” Sam said to him. “Look,” he turned to Gabe. “I like you, but I love my brother. I can’t have the two of you at each other’s throats over a stupid contest.”

Gabriel tilted his head and set the spoon down on the counter next to him. “Are you breaking up with me?”

“What? No,” Sam said, shocked. “I just don’t want you two to fight anymore. It’s freaking Christmas, which is about a whole hell of a lot more than winning a dumb trophy.”

“He’s asking you to remember the ‘reason for the season,’” Cas piped up.

“I got that, thanks, bro,” Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Are you mad?”

Sam bit his lip for a moment and then finally nodded. “A little bit, yeah.” He looked directly at Gabriel. “Not just at you. I’m upset with Dean as well. He’s been going crazy for the past few weeks too. I just,” he sighed. “I need you both to pull it back a little and try to at least not kill one another. I mean, you _pounced_ on him. In a store.”

“Fine,” Gabriel shrugged nonchalantly. “Whatever. I can back off. I won’t buy anything else to put up this year.”

“Thank you,” Sam said gratefully. “That’s all I ask. I’ll make sure that Dean doesn’t either. Let’s just stick with what we all have for now, and see what happens.”

“Okay,” Gabriel smiled.

Sam walked over to him and moved into Gabe’s personal space, trapping him on the counter against the cabinets. “Thanks. It means a lot.” He leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss to Gabriel’s mouth. When he pulled away, he smiled at him again. “I have to go. It’s my turn to make dinner.” Sam said goodbye to Cas as well before heading back home.

When the door shut behind him, Castiel walked back to the kitchen and eyed Gabriel who was still innocently eating raw cookies. “You lied,” he stated.

“I did not,” Gabriel said, pretending to sound shocked. “I said I wouldn’t _buy_ anything else. We still haven’t put up the gingerbread bounce house and I bought that last year, so it doesn’t count because we already have it.”

“That’s deceitful,” Cas said gravely.

“It’s a loophole,” Gabe clarified. “And I plan on taking advantage of it. Now help me find the pump so we can blow that monstrosity up tonight.”

Castiel followed his brother shaking his head. This was a terrible idea. He just hoped that it didn’t blow up in Gabriel’s face. His brother would be devastated if he lost Sam over something so ridiculous.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I have been neglecting this. I just adopted a new doggie and we've been doing all the vet visits and introducing her to the other pets and all that and I totally spaced on this. Oops.

True to Cas’ prediction, Sam was not pleased when he woke up and saw a giant inflatable bouncy house in Gabriel’s yard that had most definitely _not_ been there the night before. When he stopped into the candy store that afternoon, he dragged Gabriel to the office and locked them inside before he got upset.

“Really?” he started with.

Gabriel tilted his head and pretended to look innocent. “Something on your mind, kiddo?”

“The giant gingerbread house in your yard ringing any bells?” Sam crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at him.

“I said I wouldn’t buy anything else,” Gabriel clarified. “The town is sold out of _lights_. Where would I have bought that last night? It’s been in the garage the whole time.”

“That’s a rationalization, and you know it.”

Gabe shrugged. “I didn’t lie.”

“You omitted,” Sam said. “And now Dean wants one too. He’s scouring the internet and trying to see if we can have one shipped to the house in time. This is crazy! You know that right?”

“Are you kidding?” Gabe stared at him. “I haven’t had this much fun in a prank war since college. Your brother has some nice moves,” he complimented.

“Honestly, Dean’s having a great time too,” Sam sighed. “He’s just getting creepy about it.”

“See,” Gabe slid up next to him and circled his arms around Sam’s waist. “Your bro and I might end up being friends after all.”

“I really don’t see that happening,” Sam told him, kissing the top of his head. “He’s still pissed that you hung our snowman like he was at the gallows.”

Gabriel laughed and buried his face into Sam’s chest. “I’m proud of that one.” He tilted his face up and looked into Sam’s eyes. “You’re not pissed off now, are you?”

Sam shook his head. “I think you both might be insane,” he said. “But no, I’m not.” He bent down and pressed his lips to Gabriel’s mouth. “Judging is in a few days and then this will all be over. And I’ll finally be able to relax without wondering what harebrained scheme either of you will come up with next.” Gabriel chuckled into the kiss and Sam pulled back. “Whatever it is, don’t do it.”

“But—“

“No, Gabriel,” Sam said firmly. 

“Fine!” Gabe huffed. “I’ll leave it be this time. I promise.”

“Thank you,” Sam kissed him again.

They made out for a while in Gabriel’s office, managing to dump the contents of the desk onto the floor in their quest for contact. They only stopped when Charlie banged on the door and yelled at Gabe for neglecting customers since the store was so busy due to the upcoming holiday. Sam gave Gabriel one last kiss before he left, and he made sure that it was full of promise.

* * *

Castiel waited in their usual booth in the back of the diner and stirred the lukewarm coffee in front of him with a spoon. He knew that he was early, but he still got anxious when they met and he had to wait on Dean to arrive. He watched through the window as a familiar figure walked along the sidewalk, jacket pulled tight against the cold.

When Dean slid into the booth across from him, Cas gave the other man a small smile. “I hope you weren’t waiting long,” Dean said.

“No,” Cas responded. They made small talk about their days until the waitress came up to take their order. Both men requested their usual double cheeseburgers, Dean’s with extra bacon. 

Cas hesitated a moment before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small, wrapped box. He set it on the table between them and looked at Dean expectantly. “It’s not much,” he said. “But it made me think of you. I wasn’t sure if we would be able to see each other again before the holiday so,” he trailed off.

“You got me a present?” Dean looked worried. “I didn’t get you anything.”

“It’s just something simple,” Cas said. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“I beg to differ,” Dean picked up the small box. “It’s from you, so it means a lot.”

He pulled at the wrapping paper, shredding it all over the table and opened the hinged container. Nestled inside was a chintzy keychain in the shape of a pie. Dean actually laughed out loud and began to turn it over in his hands. “This is great, Cas,” he said happily. Dean reached into his jacket and pulled out his car keys, struggling a little to slide the new addition onto the rings. “Every time I see it, I’ll think of you.”

Dean leaned up, bracing himself on the table and captured Cas’ mouth in a soft kiss. They’d been meeting like this ever since they’d met, but neither man had told their family about the other just yet. After the mounting competition between Dean and Gabriel, they both decided that it might be best to wait to drop that bit of news until after the contest was over.

When Dean sat back down, he fixed Cas with a smirk. “I see you have a new gingerbread house in your yard,” he commented.

“I don’t want anything to do with this,” Cas said firmly. “This ridiculousness is between you and Gabriel.”

“Okay,” Dean held up his hands. “But just so you know, your brother is going _down_. The Winchesters _always_ win,” Dean smiled. “And with our Uncle Bobby assigned as one of the three judges this year, I’m pretty confident.”

“I’ve met Mr. Singer, remember?” Cas said slyly. “He doesn’t seem to be the type to play favorites.”

“We’ll see about that,” Dean was cocky.

Their food arrived and both men dug in greedily. All conversation turned from the decorating contest toward what they were thinking of doing in the upcoming year. Cas just hoped that whatever the outcome of the competition was, that there wouldn’t be bad blood between his brother and his new boyfriend.

* * *

That night, Sam and Dean arrived back at their house to find that John had made a large pot of spaghetti for all of them. They ate and cleaned up as a family before settling in front of the television to watch a cheesy holiday movie on cable. Dean kept complaining that they should have put in ‘Die Hard,’ but no one was feeling energetic enough to change the channel.

Around the middle of the movie, there was a loud knock at the door which made all of them sit up straight in their chairs. Dean heaved himself to his feet and went to the front of the house, peeking out of the windows on the side of the door. “There’s no one there,” he said.

Sam walked up behind him, frowning. “That’s odd,” he commented.

Dean grabbed the handle of the door and swung it open. He stepped outside in his socks, despite the cold and blinked when a large pile of snow fell from above and covered him from head to toe. The Winchester brothers looked up and saw a three gallon bucket suspended above the door, attached to the handle with a thin, yet strong, string.

Gabriel was standing on the sidewalk, all bundled up against the cold and cracking up. He was pointing at Dean, tears streaming from his eyes as he cackled at the older Winchester. “You look like an angry little yeti,” he crowed from a safe distance.

“I am going to _kill_ you, Novak!” Dean took off like a shot, running through the drifts, uncaring of the cold and wet seeping into his wool socks.

Gabriel’s eyes went wide and he froze for a split second before taking off himself and scurrying back to the safety of his own house. Dean managed to chase him around the yard for a little while, as Gabe zig-zagged around the decorations on his lawn. Eventually Dean gave up, teeth chattering and Gabriel bounced up to his own front door. “You two are nuts!” Sam shouted as he watched his brother trudge back across the street.

Gabe smiled and waved at him before disappearing inside. Sam could hear the click of the lock from all the way across the street. “I hate your boyfriend,” Dean told him as he stomped inside and went to change his clothes. Sam just shook his head. These two were _way_ too much.


	12. Chapter 12

It was finally the day before Christmas Eve and the whole town was lit up like a beacon. After the debacle of the gingerbread bounce house, and the snow bucket, both Dean and Gabriel promised to stop decorating and let things fall as they may. Despite the fact that Sam secretly wanted his brother to take the prize, he had to admit that Gabe had definitely outdone himself. It was going to be a tight race. He smiled out of the Impala’s window as they drove through the streets of town. Almost everyone had their displays all lit up to celebrate that tomorrow was finally Christmas Eve, and with it, the final judging of the competition.

When Sam and Dean stopped by to pick Jack up for one last outing before the holiday, they waited in the Impala, Claire nestled in the back seat. Dean honked a few times, but Jack didn’t come running out as he usually did. The brothers glanced at one another before unbuckling their seatbelts. “Hey Claire?” Sam said. “Can you stay here for minute?”

“Sure,” she smiled and burrowed further into the large blanket that Dean had placed back there for the kids earlier in the day.

They got out of the car and slipped up the icy walkway. The doorbell on the Kline house was busted, so Sam rapped loudly with his fist. “Jack?” he called.

The door opened abruptly to reveal Jack’s mother, Kelly. Her usually attractive face was marred with tear tracks and her eyes were red and puffy. She sniffed and then looked shocked to see the Winchesters standing in front of her. “Oh, I forgot you were coming today,” she said. She stepped out onto the step, shutting the door behind her. “I don’t think Jack will be able to come out today. I’m so sorry.”

“Is he sick?” Sam worried.

“No,” Kelly said softly, glancing at the closed door to the house. “Um,” she hesitated. “His father came by this morning.”

“Oh,” Sam said, looking over at Dean whose jaw was set.

“He, um,” Kelly looked up at them. “He wasn’t very pleasant.”

“I thought he was out of the picture?” Dean commented.

Kelly nodded. “I did too. The divorce was finalized in August and we haven’t heard from him since then. He didn’t fight for custody, just alimony, saying that I owed him because he helped pay for my night classes.”

“What did he want?” Dean looked angry.

“Jefferson has always been…difficult,” Kelly told them. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Is he looking at custody now?” Sam was confused.

She shook her head. “He wants more alimony and I don’t know why?” Kelly said on a wail. “I gave him just about everything in the divorce and he wants even more. Money that I just don’t have.”

Sam tried to pat her on the shoulder while Dean shifted uncomfortably on the porch. “I’m so sorry Kelly,” he said. “Is there anything we can do?”

She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. “Would you mind returning some of Jack’s gifts please? I still have the receipts, I just don’t think I can face it. I’ve been saving for some of them for months and that money might take some of the pressure off. I know it’s horrible, but I’m just not sure what else to do.”

“Kelly,” Dean said. “We can give you some cash. Please don’t take back Jack’s presents.”

She smiled thinly. “I couldn’t ask for that,” she said firmly. “I can make this work. I’ll keep a few of the less expensive ones for him to open on Christmas morning. It will be fine.”

The Winchester brothers exchanged glances and looked upset, but they didn’t want to argue with the distraught woman. They knew she would be mortified if they kept pushing, thinking it was charity.

“Whatever you need, Kelly,” Sam murmured. 

“Thank you,” she sank into Sam’s arms, burying her face into his chest. “He was just so awful to Jack. I don’t think he’s up for going out today.”

“That’s perfectly fine,” Sam told her quickly. “We can come by another day. The snow isn’t going anywhere so we can take him sledding whenever. Claire won’t mind either.”

“Okay,” she whispered, pulling herself out of Sam’s embrace. “Thank you, truly. If you don’t mind coming later tonight sometime after he goes to bed? I can have the things I need returned ready for you then. He’ll probably want to go to sleep early.”

“If you’re sure,” Dean said lowly.

“I am.”

“Okay,” Sam nodded, looking at his brother. “We can be here around seven or so if that’s okay?”

“That would be great. Thank you.” Kelly twisted the knob and started to go back inside the house. The Winchesters could see that there weren’t any lights on inside despite the darkness of the overcast sky. Kelly was probably trying to conserve her electricity. “Thanks,” she said again before shutting the door.

The brothers walked back to their car without a word. When they got inside, Claire was still there, smiling up at them. “Where’s Jack?” she asked.

“He’s not feeling well,” Sam lied. “Do you mind if we go sledding another day?”

Claire shook her head with the easy-going nature of a child who was just excited for Christmas. “That’s okay. Could we go to Gabe’s place and get some candy though before you take me home?”

“Of course,” Dean told her.

Dean waited in the car while Sam took Claire into Twix Up Your Sleeve because he and Gabriel were still ‘at war.’ Sam told Dean that he was being ridiculous before they left him sitting in the parking lot. When the two of them returned, Claire’s arms full of different flavors of holiday chocolates, they got back on the road. The brothers listened to the young girl chatter away about all the candies Gabe had bestowed on her and the things she had asked Santa for the previous week. They tried to smile and keep her entertained, but there was an undercurrent between them of frustration and a little anger. They waited for Claire to get inside her house before pulling away and heading home.

“What a prick,” Dean finally said.

“Yeah,” Sam nodded. “I know the guy makes a decent living. What the hell kind of person asks for more alimony from a woman who works three jobs to keep a roof over his kid’s head?”

“A prick,” Dean said.

“No shit.” Sam shifted in his seat. “Dean,” he said. “We can’t just return those Christmas gifts.”

“I know,” his brother said. “She’s not going to let us pay for them though, you know that.”

“Well, then we have to figure out something else.”

They lapsed into silence, but neither of them could come up with a solution. What they needed was a Christmas miracle and Sam wasn’t sure he even believed in them anymore.

* * *

The doorbell of the Winchester house rang out loudly at almost nine that evening. The brothers looked at each other in confusion, and they both got up to answer the door. They were beat to the punch by their father, who was already there and talking to someone out front. Sam and Dean crept closer, finally peering around John’s shoulders to find Castiel and Gabe standing there, shivering. “What do you want?” Dean grumbled.

“If you’re going to be an assbutt, I won’t kiss you anymore,” Cas told him bluntly.

Everyone stared at him and then slowly turned to look at Dean, whose face was flushing deeply. “We’ve kind of been seeing each other despite the whole…decoration thing,” Dean mumbled.

“Sleeping with the enemy, Cassie,” Gabe smacked his brother on the back. “You little traitor.”

“You’re one to talk,” Cas told him. “I seem to remember walking in on you and Sam the other night in—“

“Hey guys!” Sam shouted, cutting Castiel off. “What’s up? Come in, please.” He moved Dean and John out of the way, allowing the Novaks to step in from the cold.

Sam wrapped an arm around Gabriel’s shoulder, trying to stop him from shivering. Dean was glaring at the shorter man, while still trying to inch closer to Castiel. “So? What do you want?” Dean directed the comment to Gabe.

“We heard about Jack,” Castiel said.

“Yeah and his dick-bag father,” Gabriel snorted.

“How?” Sam wrinkled his nose.

Castiel hesitated for a moment before saying, “He used to work at my accounting firm. He moved to another when he left town, obviously. But he came in today to talk to a few of his old coworkers.”

“And he was _loudly_ bragging about screwing over his ex-wife and his kid,” Gabriel snarled.

The Winchesters all gaped. “Seriously?” Sam said.

The Novak brothers nodded. “I asked around after he left and one of the receptionists told me who they were. It wasn’t hard to connect the dots and realize that the child in question was Jack. I know how close you both are to him and Claire,” Cas said softly.

“I _would_ just hunt the guy down myself and knock him unconscious,” Gabriel said. “But I don’t relish spending Christmas in the county lockup.”

“I’d help you,” Dean muttered. Both of them looked at each other and managed a smile at their first agreement in weeks.

“Point being,” Gabe said. “We can’t let some douche ruin a kid’s Christmas. Especially not a kid as sweet as Jack.”

“I agree,” Castiel said.

“Yeah,” Sam said. “We’re right there with you. But we’ve been trying to think of something to do about it all day and come up empty.”

“That’s why you need me, kiddo,” Gabriel grinned up at him. “I’m the King of Loopholes. And Cassie and I have a plan.”

They all stared at Gabriel for a full minute before John cleared his throat. “Well, if you four are going to pull something like this off,” he said. “You two,” he pointed to Dean and Gabe, “are going to have to start getting along.”

“Truce?” Gabriel said, sticking out his hand. Dean licked his lips and thought for a moment before gripping Gabe’s palm firmly. “Truce,” he agreed.

“I’ll put on some coffee,” John smiled at them and trudged off to the kitchen.

“What’s this plan of yours?” Sam smiled down at his boyfriend.

“It’s epic,” Gabriel promised. “But first, you need to put a call in to your Uncle Bobby.”


	13. Chapter 13

It took Bobby Singer about ten seconds to agree to their plan, which wasn’t really a surprise to anyone. Bobby had always had a soft spot for kids, and after a few choice words about Jefferson Kline, he readily agreed to help them with their scheme.

After Gabriel had laid out his idea, and they were all up to speed, the five of them realized that this was going to take a _lot_ of work. First though, they had to get more people on board. Dean placed a call to Donna Hanscum, one of Jody’s deputies, who also owned some rental property in town. She happened to be Kelly Kline’s landlord. Donna squealed with delight when they asked for her help and said, “Oh you betcha! I’m on it!” in her thick Minnesota accent.

When Donna called back a half an hour later, she sounded positive, but also a little guilty. “I told her that it would just be one night and that I insisted on paying for the hotel room since it ‘was my mistake,’” Donna explained. “She was unhappy about it, but when I said the water would be shut off for the repair people, she agreed. So she’s packing up her and Jack for the night. They’ll be gone until tomorrow around ten.”

“Awesome, Donna,” Dean told her. “You did good.” They had convinced Donna to lie about some last minute plumbing work to get Kelly and Jack out of their house for as long as possible.

“She sounded like she was crying,” Donna told him.

“I know,” Dean said. “Don’t worry and don’t feel guilty,” he told the deputy. “This is all going to be worth it—I promise.”

“You better not be lying to me, Dean Winchester,” Donna said. “I’m a cop and I know where you live.” He laughed at that before they disconnected.

By the time they had been given word that Kelly and Jack had checked into the motel for the night, unsuspecting what was actually happening, the front yard of the Winchester house was full of people. Cas, Gabe and Sam, along with John and Bobby had put the word out to everyone they could think of and the turnout was spectacular.

Dean and Gabriel took charge of their own yards, instructing everyone on the best way to remove all of the decorations from the feuding properties. John and Bobby were balancing on ladders, removing icicle lights from the Winchesters roof. Across the street Charlie was helping Kevin Tran and his formidable mother unwind strings of lights from all of the large trees in the Novak’s yard.

Around midnight, Jody pulled up in her squad car, followed by Claire and her mother, who had brought everyone donuts and hot chocolate from the all-night diner. “Mom said I can stay up and help!” Clarie shouted to Sam as she ran through the snow and jumped into his arms for a hug. “But it’s a secret, I know that.”

“Good,” Sam smiled at her. “Zip your lips.” Claire made a motion with her fingers and pretended to lock her mouth up tightly while giggling.

By two-fifteen, Clarie was sleeping on the sofa in the Winchester’s living room and most of the decorations at both houses were down and packed into various cars. “This is really sweet of you all,” Charlie commented softly to Gabriel as they stood on the sidewalk.

Both the Winchester and Novak residences still had a few lights up just to keep things looking festive, but the majority of decorations were now gone. They only had about six more hours to get everything across town to the Kline’s and begin to reassemble the festive magic on the dreary rental property. “I’m a sweet guy,” Gabriel winked at his friend.

“I won’t tell anyone,” she laughed. “Wouldn’t want to ruin either yours or Dean’s reputations. But I’m pretty sure that after tonight the whole town of Mistletoe is going to know that you’re both big softies.”

Gabe scoffed, but he didn’t disagree. “Jack deserves to have an amazing Christmas,” was all he said.

“All right, everyone,” John called from the driveway of his place. “Move out! We’re on the clock!”

People began to climb into their cars and make the trek over to the other side of town. A trail of almost twenty vehicles rode through the dark and mostly deserted streets, converging on the Kline house at three in the morning. For the most part, they tried to stay quiet as they unpacked and began to decorate the small bungalow, but inevitably a few of the neighbors ventured outside to see what was going on. Once they had been filled in, most of them returned wearing winter clothes and began to pitch in.

The Santa Shack and gingerbread bounce house were placed on opposite corners of the lawn, while bunches of festive statues were interspersed throughout the rest of the yard. At eight in the morning, Jody put in a call to the power company and paid in advance for the electric bill through March, leaving a generous amount to cover the extra cost of running the holiday lights. They had all pitched in with that, with the Trans donating the largest amount toward the bill.

By nine, everything was just about perfect and most people were beginning to trickle off, waving goodbye and heading home for a nap before that evening’s judging. When everyone had finally gone, the four of them stood on the sidewalk in front of the Kline’s, watching the lights blink merrily in the morning light. “If the kid doesn’t win the contest,” Gabe said, slipping his arm around Sam’s waist, “I’m going to smite somebody.”

“I think Bobby will make sure that he does,” Sam reassured his boyfriend.

“Besides,” Dean smiled. “There is no way that any other house in town is this decked out.”

“That’s very true,” Cas leaned in a pressed a kiss to the corner of Dean’s mouth.

“All right,” Sam said finally. “Donna said that they’d be home around ten, so we have to get out of here.”

They all nodded and headed off toward their respective cars. Dean shouted to Gabriel that he could beat him back to their houses and both men took off at a sprint, relishing in a new form of competition. Sam and Cas followed, rolling their eyes at them and shouting warnings about the icy roads, which were mostly ignored.

When they returned home, to their own less-impressive decorations, they each retired to their own rooms and fell into bed, hoping for a few hours of sleep before all the fun began that evening. As each of them drifted off, they all hoped that their plan would work. They wanted Jack to have the best holiday that he possibly could and this was a step in the right direction. Perhaps Christmas miracles still existed after all.

* * *

Gabriel woke up around two in the afternoon, feeling fully refreshed after such a small amount of sleep. He showered, changed and headed downstairs trying to remain quiet since he knew that his brother was still asleep and hated to be disturbed. After a while, he made up his mind and ventured across the street to the Winchesters. He hesitated a moment before ringing the bell.

John answered, rubbing his eyes, but looking mostly awake. “Hi,” he said. “I’m guessing you’re here for Sam?”

Gabe nodded and worried his lip. “If he’s still asleep though, I don’t want to bother him.”

“I’m sure he’s passed out in his room,” John said. “But he’d probably be more upset if you _didn’t_ bother him. Go on up,” the eldest Winchester pointed to the stairs. “Last door on the left.”

“Thank you, sir,” Gabriel said stiffly. He wasn’t sure how to address his boyfriend’s father just yet seeing as they hadn’t really been properly introduced.

“Call me John,” the older man smiled. “No one’s called me ‘sir,’ since I was a marine.”

Gabe smiled and nodded. “Okay. Thanks, John.”

He headed up the stairs which creaked loudly and padded down the hall to Sam’s room. When he cracked the door open, he could see his boyfriend splayed out on the bed, still fully dressed and sleeping heavily. Gabriel crept into the room and closed the door behind him. He kicked off his shoes and crawled up onto the bed next to Sam. The taller man didn’t budge until Gabriel snuggled down next to him and pulled him close. Sam’s eyes cracked open and he said, “Gabe? What are you doing?”

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I didn’t want to wake you, but your father said you wouldn’t mind.”

“I don’t mind,” Sam agreed, slinging his arms around Gabe’s shoulders. “I like waking up to you.”

“Yeah?”

“I could get used to it,” Sam smiled, closing his eyes again. “Just give me a few more minutes,” he buried his face in Gabriel’s hair and breathed in.

“I’ll be right here when you wake up, kiddo,” Gabe said with a soft smile.

A few hours later when Sam’s alarm went off, they both shot out of bed with a start. Gabriel had drifted off again, wrapped up in Sam’s comforting embrace, and they had to get moving. It was almost time to head downtown for the final judging. They stepped around one another while Gabe found his shoes and Sam changed his clothes as quickly as he could.

They met up with John downstairs who chuckled at them, informing them that soon after Gabriel had arrived, Dean had snuck downstairs and headed over to bother Cas. Gabriel hummed and commented that his brother had probably not been as accommodating as Sam if Dean had managed to wake him. “Well, he didn’t come back,” John said knowingly. “So I’m assuming your brother let him inside.”

Castiel and Dean were leaning against the Impala, kissing lightly as the snow fell around them when the others finally joined them outside. “You ready for this?” Dean asked Gabe as they approached each other.

“Oh definitely,” he reached out and Gabriel and Dean shook hands. “Merry Christmas,” Gabe said to his former rival.

“You too,” Dean grinned. “Okay,” he turned to his dad and Sam. “Let’s do this!”


	14. Chapter 14

The snow picked up as they drove through town, but it wasn’t enough to worry anyone. Mostly it was just pretty and added to the underscore of magic that was buzzing through Mistletoe. John, Dean and Cas took the Impala, while Sam and Gabriel squashed themselves into Gabe’s smaller vehicle. Sam bitched about the leg room the entire ride.

They parked in the small lot behind Twix Up Your Sleeve and gathered together before heading down the street toward the center of town. The small street fair that accompanied the judging was up and running by the time that they arrived. Most of the local shops had tables set up along the walkways with discounted merchandise that was themed for the holiday in case anyone needed a last-minute gift.

A few of Kevin’s friends had volunteered to run a table for Gabriel’s place for the promise of a few pounds of homemade fudge and the chance to get out of studying during their Winter Break. They waved at the two teens manning the table and allowed Gabe to stop and check on them for a minute before they headed on. “Channing said they were almost out of fudge and wanted to know if she could bring out the rest of the stuff in the store,” Gabe said as they walked.

“That’s a good thing,” Sam said. “I mean, you’ve only been open a few months and I have only heard good things. My students bring your candy to class all the time. They’re not supposed to, but around this time of year, most of us turn a blind eye.”

“Thanks for helping my business by breaking school rules,” Gabriel said trying to sound serious.

They turned the corner at the end of the street and the town square was up ahead, all decorated for the festivities. People were milling around, drinking from thermoses and eating plenty of fattening food since calories didn’t count at this time of year. Dean purchased a warm funnel cake from a small trailer and forced Cas to try it for the first time. He told Dean that it was passable, but more to Gabe’s liking. Dean called Castiel a psychopath, but he smiled the whole time.

The five of them greeted people as they walked toward the large tree at the center of town where the judging of the decorating contest would take place. Kevin and his mother waved to them from across the street. Donna Hanscum ran up grinning and trying not to shout that the Kline house had looked amazing when she had driven by earlier. They ran into Charlie, manning her girlfriend’s spiked eggnog stand and she bullied them all into buying a cup. Even Jody had tipped her hat to them as she patrolled the streets. 

After a little while, John excused himself to go and speak with Bobby, leaving the couples alone. Cas dragged Dean over to a table stacked with jars of fresh, organic honey. He proceeded to talk with the blonde girl selling it for almost twenty minutes while Dean’s eyes glazed over.

Sam grabbed Gabriel’s hand lightly and pulled the shorter man closer so that they were touching at the sides as they walked. They swung by the judges table where the snowflake trophy was sitting on display. Sam slowed and took a moment to stare at the tacky prize. “It’s going to be weird not having it this year,” he said softly.

Gabe squeezed his hand. “There’s always next year.” Sam nodded but didn’t say anything. “Winning really means a lot to your family, doesn’t it?” Gabriel finally asked.

“Yeah,” Sam sighed. He glanced down at his boyfriend. “I’ve never told you about my mom.” Gabriel waited, simply watching Sam, not wanting to push a clearly important part of his boyfriend’s life. “She died when I was eight,” Sam told him. Gabriel felt the strongest urge to throw his arms around Sam and pull him close, but he held back. “She _loved_ Christmas. It was her favorite time of year.”

Sam looked up at the large, lighted tree wistfully. “Her parents weren’t really big on much of anything except their own hobbies. So when she had Dean she really wanted to make Christmas special for him, since it had been just another day for her when she was growing up.” Sam’s eyes were glistening as he spoke. “She was the best. We always had something that we’d asked Santa for under the tree. Homemade stockings, lights everywhere. And our house smelled like gingerbread from Thanksgiving until about two weeks after Christmas Day.

He turned slightly, and touched Gabe’s arm. “We started doing the contest after she passed away. Sort of a way to honor her memory. My dad didn’t take it well when she died but he managed to pull it together once a year for us. The first year we won,” Sam’s lips ghosted into a smile. “Dean was so happy. He put the trophy up on the mantle and said that mom had helped us win. It’s just,” he sighed. “It’s going to be strange this year.”

Gabriel hesitated before he spoke. Sam was obviously going through the gamut of emotions and he didn’t want to make it worse. “You know she’d be happier with what you’re doing tonight than with every single trophy, right?”

“I know,” Sam smiled at him gratefully. “You know,” he commented. “I’m kind of glad that things worked out like this.”

“Oh yeah,” Gabe smiled. “Why?”

“Because I know that my mom would be the first one to pitch in for this whole scheme,” Sam told him. “But if we had ended up losing to a sneaky little trickster like _you_ , she would have come back to haunt us.”

Gabriel burst out laughing. “I doubt that.”

“Nah,” Sam grinned. “She would have liked you. She would have probably told me that you were perfect for me because I’m always too serious and you know how to have fun.”

“I am more than willing to give lessons on fun,” Gabriel said. “Any time you want.”

“What about tonight?” Sam said quietly.

Gabe’s eyes widened as he realized what Sam was asking. He grinned slowly and nodded his head. “I think I can fit you into my schedule, kiddo.”

As they leaned in for a kiss, the crowd around them went up into a roar as the judges for the year took the stage, led by Bobby Singer. Gabriel’s arms were around Sam’s neck and they were still kissing when Dean jostled them from behind. They looked over and saw that he was standing with Cas, as well as two familiar faces. Kelly Kline and Jack were right behind them. Kelly looked worried, while Jack was just grinning up a storm.

“Hi Sam! Hi Gabe! Merry Christmas!” Jack shouted, bouncing next to his mother. “Guess what? Did you see my house? Santa came and made it beautiful. We have the prettiest house on the block!”

Kelly’s lips were pinched as she leaned in toward them, trying to lower her voice so that Sam couldn’t hear. “What is going on?” she asked. “We had to leave last night because of a plumbing emergency. When we got back this morning, the whole yard was lit up and covered. There was note on the door from my landlord Donna, saying to leave all the lights on and come down here tonight.”

“It’s a surprise,” Sam said to her.

“A good one,” Gabriel piped up. “I promise.”

“Just watch,” Dean put his arm around Kelly’s shoulder and smiled at her.

She tried to smile, but still looked a little wary. Gabriel broke away from Sam and bent down to Jack’s level. “So Santa decorated your house, huh?”

“Yeah!” the child cried happily. “You should see it Gabe! It’s got snowmen and lights and everything is magic!”

“That sounds pretty awesome,” Gabriel agreed.

Up on the platform, Bobby called for the town’s attention, announcing the final results of the Annual Holiday Lights Contest. People began to quiet down to await the verdict. One of the other judges, a stern looking woman named Naomi, who ran the local historical society, moved next to him. She took the microphone and announced the second and third place winners, which were both families who participated each year. There was cheering for each of them from their friends and family.

Naomi passed the microphone back to Bobby who cleared his throat. The entire population held their breath. Everyone had either participated in the scheme the previous night, or had heard about it and were crossing their fingers that it had been pulled off. Bobby smiled and said, “This year, the first place winner of the Light Competition is none other, than our very own, Jack Kline of Evergreen Lane!”

The whole square roared with cheers and clapping for the young boy. Kelly’s mouth dropped open and she stared at the Winchesters and Novaks in confusion. Beside her Jack jumped up and down, whooping. “But, how?” Kelly finally managed.

“Call it a Christmas miracle,” Gabriel told her.

From the stage, Bobby was asking Jack to come join him. The young boy pulled on his mother’s hand, practically dragging her up to collect the snowflake trophy. The two couples responsible for the surprise followed behind as Jack ran up the steps and gave Bobby a tight hug. Kelly was still lingering in the crowd, not quite sure of what exactly what going on. Sam and Dean slipped in next to her and smiled down at her shocked and confused expression.

Bobby, ever the gruff retired firefighter, handed over the statue to a beaming Jack, who immediately began waving it in the air. “Now, how old are you, son?” Bobby asked him.

“I’m seven,” Jack shouted into the microphone.

“Seven! And how did you get your house looking so perfect this year?” Bobby held the mic out for Jack again.

“Santa did it!” the child crowed. All of the adults in the audience chuckled and nodded.

“I’m sure he did,” Bobby said seriously. “And wouldn’t you know? He’s here to say hello to you!”

A man in a red suit and clearly padded tummy stepped out from behind the tree holding a large brown sack filled with wrapped gifts. He went straight for Jack, smiling and allowing the child to hug him tightly before handing over the bag. A few locks of blonde hair were peeking out from under his white wig.

“Ha!” Gabriel elbowed Cas in the ribs. “I knew Luci would come through!”

Sure enough, the eldest Novak had taken their call in the middle of the night and changed his travel plans to arrive in town early. Gabriel had begged his older brother to help them and after a few eye rolls, Lucifer had agreed to play Santa for Jack.

Currently, he was helping Jack dig through the large bag, pulling out presents and shaking them to decipher what could be inside. “I don’t understand,” Kelly looked at the Winchesters, tears leaking out of her eyes.

“They’re the gifts that you asked us to return,” Dean told her quietly. “We _did_ return them,” he said. “So you’ll have that money back in your bank account.”

“But,” Sam added. “A lot of people in town found out what happened, and they may have insisted on pitching in to buy them all back.”

“Whoops,” Gabriel shrugged and looked anything but ashamed.

“It’s not charity,” Castiel moved toward her, smiling with reassurance. “It’s part of the prize package for the winner of the decorating contest.”

“Ask Bobby,” Dean nodded. “It’s all official and shit, so you have to accept your winnings.”

“Or you’ll be disqualified,” Gabriel grinned at her.

Kelly was wiping away full-on tears by that point. She sniffed and reached for the nearest person to hug them, which happened to be Castiel. He was stiff and awkward, but with a little prodding from Dean, he relaxed and hugged her back. Kelly moved on to each of them in turn before finally speaking. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Sam told her. “This is Christmas and Jack deserves an amazing holiday. We’re happy to help in any way we can.”

“You aren’t alone, Kelly,” Dean told her.

“Enjoy the holidays with your son,” Cas said.

“And after the holidays, our brother Lucifer will be stopping by with a friend of his,” Gabriel said. “He’s a family attorney from New York City with licenses here and he is practically drooling to take your case against your ex-husband.”

She blinked and her mouth dropped open. “I can’t afford that.”

“You don’t have to,” Castiel assured her. “We told Lucifer what was happening and he passed it along. Crowley is…”

“An asshole,” Gabriel supplied. “But he’s the best there is and he _loves_ to wipe the floor with his opponents. He’s offered to do it pro bono just to ‘give him something to do until Valentine’s Day,’ or some shit like that.”

“We’ve got you,” Dean said, pulling her into another hug.

“But don’t think about any of that now,” Sam said. “Just go spend Christmas with Jack. I think he’s going to need help opening his prizes.”

Kelly cried some more and there were hugs all around before she ran up to join her son. She knelt down next to her little boy and smiled brightly as he showed her some of the wrapped packages, telling her his theories as to what was inside of them. Lucifer, in his crooked Santa hat was right in the thick of it, helping Jack present his winnings to his overwhelmed mother. He kept smiling at Kelly, which made Gabriel snicker. “My brother is _so_ obvious when he’s flirting,” Gabe whispered to Sam.

The four of them stood together, grinning and wishing the people around them a happy holiday. John and Bobby materialized beside them and the Winchester brothers jumped a little when their father clapped them both on the back. “Your mom would be so proud of you,” he said. “I’m proud of you.”

“You did good,” Bobby grunted. “That young man playing Santa is a little weird though,” he commented. “Asked me if I knew any pretty single ladies in the crowd.”

“That’s because he’s a Novak,” Gabriel slid his arm around Sam’s waist and smiled at Bobby. “We enjoy the chase,” he winked up at Sam.

Cas and Dean began to engage Bobby and John in a lively conversation about contests past. Sam and Gabe stepped slightly away from the group as Lucifer approached with Kelly and Jack. The young boy reached up, begging ‘Santa’ for another hug and the oldest Novak scooped him up into his arms as they joined the group.

“Look!” Jack shouted suddenly, pointing above Sam and Gabriel’s heads. Everyone’s faces tilted up to see the large bunch of festive mistletoe hanging from one of the street lamps. Sam and Gabe were directly under it. “You _have_ to kiss! It’s a Christmas law!”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Gabriel smirked, placing his palms on Sam’s face and pulling him down for a deep kiss.

As their lips met, the snow swirled around them, dusting their shoulders with sparking flakes. When they finally pulled apart, Sam smiled and said, “Merry Christmas, Gabe.”

“You too, kiddo.” He smirked up at Sam once more. “I’m gonna have to do that again. I wouldn’t want to break any holiday laws after all,” he winked.

Sam gladly bent down, placing his hands on Gabriel’s hips and pulling him closer as they shared the perfect end, to a magical day. The kiss was deep and passionate and full of promise of what the future held for them. Neither man ever wanted to let go. And if they had anything to say about it, they never would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last real and official chapter of the story. There will be an epilogue that will consist of basically 98% Sabriel smut. So there's that...Happy Christmas Eve!!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Christmas!! Tomorrow... :)

John and Bobby eventually helped Kelly gather up all of the ‘winnings,’ packing them away in her car. Both of them firmly requested that she call them for absolutely anything in the future—with an emphasis on letting them know if Jefferson ever stopped by her house again. In his own sly way, Lucifer managed an invite to join the Klines for some late-night eggnog before Jack went off to bed. He winked at his brothers as he left, his arm around Kelly’s waist, still wearing his ridiculous Santa get-up.

Castiel and Dean were the first to leave, both of them mumbling excuses about having more gifts to wrap before the morning. They high-tailed it back to the Impala, their hands gripped tightly. John chuckled and asked Bobby for a ride home. “Dad, we can drive you back,” Sam tried to say.

John held up his hands and smiled. “No,” he said. “I don’t want to get in the way of you and Gabriel either. We’ll see each other in the morning. Oh-seven-hundred sharp, remember? Its fine,” John assured him. “Bobby and I can have a quick drink with Ellen later and he’ll drop me at home. I haven’t seen either of them in a while.”

“If you’re sure,” Sam said. His father waved him off and disappeared into the crowd with their uncle.

He turned back to look at Gabriel who was watching him with an indecipherable look on his face. “I’m cold,” Gabe said suddenly.

“Yeah,” Sam furrowed his brow. “The temperature is dropping, so we’re going to get more snow and—“

“You know someplace that would be much warmer than right here?” Gabe cut him off. “My bedroom.”

Sam’s pupils dilated at the suggestion and he found himself nodding enthusiastically. “We should go!”

“My thoughts exactly.”

They raced back to Gabriel’s car, hand in hand, stopping occasionally for a kiss, whenever they spotted the hanging mistletoe, or they just felt the urge. Sam was so eager that he didn’t even complain about his knees bumping the dash when they got into the compact car for the short drive home.

The Impala was parked in the Winchester driveway when they arrived on the street, so both Sam and Gabriel assumed that their brothers had went back to Dean’s place. They slipped along the icy walkway up to the front door of the Novak house and let themselves inside.

Their arms wrapped around one another as they tried to maneuver up the stairs as best they could while still maintaining contact. Gabe almost fell back down to the first floor when he tripped over a discarded boot in the middle of a step. They pulled apart enough to register that there was a plethora of clothes scattered around the stairs and the hallway. Apparently, Dean and Castiel had come back here after all. “I’m sure they had the decency to lock themselves in Cassie’s room,” Gabe grumbled.

“Don’t care, don’t want to think about it,” Sam murmured as he kissed along Gabe’s jaw. Despite the kissing, Gabriel still seemed slightly distracted as they made it up one whole step. Finally Sam pulled back and grabbed Gabriel under his arms, hefting the shorter man up. Gabe let out a squawk at being man-handled, which only picked up when Sam slung him over his shoulder and finished their trek upstairs. “Which one is your room?” Sam asked once he reached the second floor.

“Put me down!” Gabe kicked his legs out and pouted.

“I’m going to guess it’s the open door,” Sam said to himself, completely ignoring his boyfriend. He carried Gabe over his shoulder and entered the last room in the hallway.

“I swear Sam,” Gabe was saying. “This is awful!”

Sam kicked the door shut behind them and finally deposited Gabriel on the floor. His boyfriend was glaring up at him. “You were saying?” Sam grinned.

“You can’t just pick me up like I’m five you know,” Gabe pouted.

“You loved it,” Sam said confidently. Gabriel actually hadn’t minded it very much at all, he was just trying to stay in control of the situation. And it was harder to be the sexual aggressor when your partner tossed you over their arms like a stuffed toy.

Gabe poked him in the chest and said, “Next time, I’ll pick you up and see how _you_ like it.”

“Okay,” Sam laughed. “You do that.”

“I _could_ do it. I’m stronger than I look,” Gabe told him.

“I don’t doubt that,” Sam said, holding back a chuckle. “I mean, you _did_ take Dean down in the store—but you had some momentum on that.”

“Shut up and kiss me,” Gabe said, still pretending to be annoyed.

Sam laughed a little more before leaning down and capturing Gabe’s lips with his own. Their tongues mingled, their hands wandered, and they moved slowly toward the bed, Gabriel quickly taking control of the kiss.

There was a loud thump from the room down the hall, followed by Dean’s voice groaning, “Oh, _yeah_ , Cas!”

Sam wrinkled his nose. “I’m going to do my best to ignore that.”

“Allow me to distract you,” Gabriel smirked, pressing his fingers lightly to Sam’s chest. The small pressure coaxed Sam backward until he finally sat down on the edge of the bed. It was easy to ignore his brother getting pounded into the mattress down the hall when Gabriel’s hands were all over him. “You’re wearing too many clothes,” Gabriel murmured into his ear.

Sam was immediately pulling his shirt over his head without a second thought and throwing it somewhere. He reached down and began unbuttoning his pants when he finally looked up and met Gabriel’s eyes. The older man was staring at him with a slightly shocked expression. “What?” Sam said self-consciously.

“Nothing,” Gabriel said happily. “I did not expect you to jump right into that.”

“You’re wearing too many clothes as well,” Sam pointed out. “It _is_ Christmas Eve,” he said. “It would be nice if you could get the wrapping paper off of my present,” he flicked his eyes over Gabe’s body suggestively.

“ _That_ I can do,” Gabriel said, immediately shedding his own clothes.

They undressed hurriedly, tossing things away at random to find later. Sam dropped his underwear into a pile on the ground and looked up to see that Gabriel was standing in front of him, entirely nude. He raked his gaze along the muscles of Gabe’s body, taking extra pleasure in the sight of his boyfriend hard before him. “You’ve outdone yourself,” Sam commented. “I _love_ my present.”

He reached out his hands, beckoning Gabriel forward. They melded together, their skin flush, as Gabe stood between his legs, kissing him soundly. Sam could feel Gabe’s fingers trailing down his torso, then lightly circling his dick with a firm grip. Bucking his hips into the touch, Sam gasped as Gabriel kissed him.

Sam reached up, running his hands along Gabe’s sides, trying to pull him closer. Gabriel chuckled into his mouth. He turned his head to the side, licking a stripe up Sam’s jawline which made the taller man shiver. Lightly pressing his fingers to Sam’s chest, Gabriel pushed until Sam lay back down onto the bed.

He trailed his fingers along Sam’s body, lightly brushing his hipbones. Gabriel sank to his knees in between Sam’s legs, taking his time and causing his boyfriend to beg for his touch. He gripped the base of Sam’s cock with his fist and lowered his head, licking a stripe upwards. Sam choked and cried out his name.

Gabe smirked around him and swallowed fully, engulfing Sam’s length into his lips. He gripped Sam’s inner thigh with his free hand, while working his boyfriend over as best as he could. He hummed around Sam, teasing and drawing a deep moan from the taller man’s throat. “Gabriel,” Sam sighed. He had to admit that he really enjoyed the sound of his name coming from Sam’s lips.

He sucked deeply on Sam’s tip, using every trick he could think of to bring pleasure to his lover. Sam’s fingers fisted into his hair, giving a slight tug. He felt as Sam bucked up, fucking deeply into his mouth. His lover moaned, “Oh, Gabe.”

Gagging a little bit on Sam’s prick, Gabriel gave one long suck before pulling himself off of his lover and glancing up to meet Sam’s eyes. “I’m gonna drive you wild, kiddo,” he said, crawling up Sam’s body. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Sam’s lips, the taller man whimpering into the contact.

“Under the pillow,” Gabe commanded as he kissed Sam. 

Sam reached up with one hand, feeling around until his fingers closed and he pulled out a small bottle of lube and a string of wrapped condoms. He grinned up at Gabriel. “You sleep with these?”

“No, smartass. I stashed them there so that I’d be prepared,” Gabe told him, grinning. 

He took the items from Sam and popped open the lube, quickly slicking up his fingers. He kissed Sam fully once more, while pressing a single digit to the younger man’s tight hole. Gabriel circled his hand teasingly, playing with Sam as he continued to kiss his boyfriend. As he pushed forward, one finger entering Sam, the younger man gasped into Gabe’s mouth. Gabriel moved his hand skillfully, pushing deep into his lover.

He fingered Sam gently, taking his time and relishing in the sight of the taller man squirming underneath him. “You’re gorgeous like this,” he complimented. By the time he was three fingers deep, Sam was begging, gripping his arms hard and asking for more.

Gabriel slipped his fingers out of Sam and fumbled with the condom wrapper. His hands were actually shaking in anticipation. He had never wanted someone so much in his recollection. He knew that he was going to want Sam for the rest of his life, nothing was going to change that. Sam looked up at him through lidded eyes, a smile playing on his lips. “Hurry up,” he ordered as Gabriel rolled the condom on shakily.

“I’m going as fast as I can,” Gabe told him.

“No, you’re not,” Sam breathed. “You’re being a tease. I need you to fuck me.”

Gabriel fell back over Sam, nuzzling the other man’s neck as he lined himself up to Sam’s entrance. “Needy,” he commented.

“For you? Yeah,” Sam whispered.

“I am going to take such good care of you,” Gabriel told him as he pressed his hips forward. He entered Sam in one long thrust, bottoming out with a groan. Their foreheads were pressed together as Gabriel stilled inside of him. “Sam, you feel amazing.”

“So do you,” Sam sighed. “So right.” They kissed deeply, savoring the taste of one another. “Move, please!” Sam whined into the kiss.

Gabe pulled back slowly, inching out of his lover’s body. He pushed and slid back in, drawing a long moan from Sam’s throat. Reaching down, Gabriel gripped Sam’s sides as he began to rock into his boyfriend’s body. Sam’s legs fell to the sides around him, opening wider, asking for more friction. Gabriel used his leverage to push harder into Sam, slamming his hips forward with a grunt.

Sam keened, and tightened his inner muscles around Gabriel’s cock. “Yes,” the younger man moaned. “More, Gabe, please!”

Reaching up to run his hand across Sam’s cheek, Gabriel continued to fuck into his boyfriend, ramping up the speed with each motion. He pushed in, setting a bruising pace as Sam’s ankles came up and locked around his waist, begging for more. Sam was bucking up into him, matching his movements eagerly. Their eyes locked as Gabe fucked him and Sam said softly, “I love you.”

It sent Gabriel over the edge. He slammed his hips in once more and said, “I love you too,” as he spilled into Sam’s tight heat.

Even as he could feel his body relaxing into the orgasm, he reached down and fisted Sam’s hard cock in his hand. He tugged skillfully on Sam’s erection, twisting his wrist until Sam came as well, coating his hand with thick, hot spurts of come.

As Sam came down, his body shaking, Gabriel slid out of him slowly and fell onto the bed next to Sam, their shoulders bumping. They were both breathing heavily, gasping for air after their encounter. Gabriel reached down and twined his fingers around Sam’s hand, squeezing lightly.

Their breathing gradually slowed, and Gabe turned his head to look at his boyfriend. Sam was watching him, smiling. “Merry Christmas,” Sam said happily.

“Marry me?” Gabriel said, the words spilling out of his lips before he could stop them.

Sam’s eyes went wide and his mouth opened in shock as he took in exactly what Gabe had said. “Are you serious?”

Gabe shook his head. “It hasn’t been very long, I know,” he began. “But I need you kiddo. More than anything. So, come on. Make my Christmas and say you’ll be my husband?”

Sam chuckled as he leaned over, pulling Gabriel into a wet kiss. “Yes,” he said against Gabe’s lips. “I love you. Of course I’ll marry you.”

“Thank god,” Gabe sighed. “Your ring is wrapped up under the tree.”

“Wait,” Sam pulled away for a moment. “You aren’t just asking in the heat of the moment? You actually planned on proposing to me?”

“Yeah,” Gabriel looked sheepish. “I didn’t mean for it to just pop out after sex though, that’s my bad. I was going to be all romantic about it.”

“I’m perfectly fine with this turn of events,” Sam said, kissing him again. “Impulsive and spurred on by sex—it’s kind of totally _you._ ”

“Glad to see you’ve figured me out, kiddo,” Gabriel said, rolling up on top of him.

Their lips met, tasting fully and they remained in one another’s arms for the rest of the night. When they finally woke the next morning, Gabriel wasted no time grabbing a small wrapped gift from under the tree and tossing it deftly to Sam. The taller man caught it and grinned as he opened the gift. Nestled inside was a thick, silver band inlaid with diamonds. He made Gabriel slide it onto his finger for him.

As they embraced, pulling one another in for a tender kiss, Dean and Cas came bursting into the room, ready to begin the Christmas festivities. “Hey, Sammy,” Dean said, smiling at his brother.

“Morning,” Sam replied, holding up his hand. “I’m getting married.”

Dean’s mouth fell open in surprise, but Cas just smiled and congratulated them. The youngest Novak brother tugged on Dean’s hand, pulling him away from the newly engaged couple as they kissed once more in front of the tree.

“Love you, kiddo,” Gabe smiled.

“I love you more,” Sam insisted.

Despite the ups and downs of the past few weeks, both of them were incredibly happy with the newest development in their relationship. They couldn’t wait to begin their lives together. The holiday was absolutely perfect now that they had each other. Sam smiled as he kissed Gabriel again. It looked as though Christmas miracles really _did_ exist.

“You know,” Gabriel said slyly. “This means that you have to help me win the decorating contest next year, you know?”

Sam laughed loudly. “I am not getting involved in that for anything in the world. You and Dean are going to have to work that out between yourselves.”

“Yeah, but you’ll still be pulling for me to win, right?”

Sam didn’t dignify that with an answer. He relaxed into his fiancée’s arms, thankful that he had another few months before he was going to have to deal with Dean and Gabe going head to head again. He had a feeling that next year was going to be even crazier, and by the glint in Gabriel’s eyes, Sam knew that he was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END!!
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading this. I hope that you enjoyed this little holiday fic and that you all have a great holiday and a wonderful 2019 in the year to come! :)

**Author's Note:**

> 🍭I am on Tumblr as crowley-loves-usuk if anyone feels the urge to follow or message me. I love talking to readers! 🍭


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